IC-NRLF 


Ml    3^3 


Ri^^^^H^H 
•HI 


11 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT    OF 


Class 


THE    MAKING 


OF 


THE    AMERICAN    NATION 

A  HISTORY  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

BY 

JACQUES   WARDLAW    REDWAY,  F.R.G.S. 

WITH  MANY  MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


SILVER,    BURDETT   AND   COMPANY 

NEW   YORK  BOSTON  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,  1905, 
BY  JACQUES  W.  REDWAY 


TO  THE   AMERICAN   BOYS  AND  GIRLS 

THERE  is  no  better  guide  by  which  the  future  of 
our  country  may  be  discerned  than  an  intelligent 
study  of  the  past.  In  a  score  of  years  hence  the 
affairs  of  the  nation  will  be  controlled  by  the  young 
men  and  women  who  are  now  preparing  to  close  the 
period  of  school  life.  To  be  a  good  and  efficient 
citizen,  it  is  not  enough  merely  to  know  the  political 
history  of  the  past ;  one  must  be  a  part  of  the  politi 
cal  affairs  of  to-day.  In  other  words,  every  good 
citizen,  whether  man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl,  must 
be  an  active  politician,  earnestly  engaged  in  politics 
—  not  the  sort  of  political  life  that  bears  the  odor 
of  graft  and  corruption,  but  the  healthful  political 
activity  that  develops  the  highest  and  the  best  in 
citizenship.  Remember  that  your  political  life  must 
stand  the  test  when  examined  by  the  searchlight 
of  virtue  and  the  rule  of  everlasting  righteousness. 


210048 


A   FOREWORD   OR   TWO 

THE  influence  of  climate  and  topography  as  dominant  factors 
in  shaping  the  destiny  of  mankind  is  no  longer  a  question  having 
two  sides ;  on  the  contrary,  political  history  may  be  broadly 
summed  up  as  a  quantitative  expression  of  temperature,  rainfall, 
and  surface  features.  When  the  man  has  been  wise  enough  to 
adapt  himself  easily  to  the  conditions  of  his  environment,  there 
has  been  but  little  friction  in  his  political  history  as  a  rule ;  on 
the  other  hand,  if  the  attempts  to  adapt  himself  to  his  environ 
ment  have  been  attended  with  a  great  deal  of  difficulty,  either 
there  has  been  much  friction  in  his  history  or  else  he  has  drifted 
to  a  materially  lower  plane  of  civilization. 

Nowhere  are  these  fundamental  principles  of  history  better 
illustrated  than  in  the  industrial  development  of  the  American 
nation.  The  wonderful  development  of  commerce  in  New  Eng 
land  when  the  harbor  facilities  were  discovered  and  utilized ;  the 
transference  of  food  production  to  the  prairies  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley  ;  the  wresting  of  the  cotton  industry  from  India  and 
its  relocation  in  the  Southern  states ;  the  localization  of  steel- 
making  at  a  position  where  cheap  fuel  and  a  low  rate  of  trans 
portation  have  made  it  a  world-commanding  economy  —  these, 
and  not  the  eloquence  of  statesmen  in  legislative  halls,  have 
made  the  political  fabric  of  the  nation  what  it  is  to-day.  Politi 
cal  revolution  is  almost  always  the  chief  result  of  commercial 
evolution.  Two  wars  with  Great  Britain  gave  to  the  Republic 
the  only  independence  that  is  real  —  namely,  commercial  inde 
pendence;  the  Civil  War  broke  the  bonds  that  for  years  had 
prevented  commercial  expansion.  These  great  struggles,  it  is 

vii 


Vlll  A    FOREWORD    OR    TWO 

hardly  necessary  to  add,  were  the  tremendous  efforts  whereby 
the  man  adapted  himself  to  his  geographic  environment  and  the 
conditions  which  it  imposed. 

A  text-book  adapted  to  the  needs  of  to-day  requires  a  discus 
sion  of  certain  principles  that  have  come  to  be  a  part  of  modern 
life.  In  discussing  these  —  especially  in  Chapter  XX  —  the 
teacher  should  consider  the  maturity  of  the  pupil's  mind.  With 
young  pupils  it  will  be  wise  to  postpone,  or  even  to  omit,  such 
topics  as  cannot  be  comprehended.  In  such  cases  it  is  not  a 
question  of  capability  but  of  age.  In  the  lists  of  collateral  read 
ing  the  books  mentioned  are  those  most  likely  to  be  found  in 
available  libraries;  others  covering  the  subjects  may  be  used 
instead.  A  comprehensive  list  of  good  books  for  further  read 
ing  is  given  in  the  Appendix. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book,  I  am  greatly  indebted  to 
Mr.  Charles  A.  Shaver,  former  Supervisor  of  Institutes  of  New 
York,  for  valuable  assistance,  especially  in  the  plans  of  the 
Eevolutionary  and  the  Civil  wars  and  for  various  maps  relating 
to  the  same.  I  also  desire  to  acknowledge  the  kindness  of 
Professor  Cyrus  W.  Hodgin  of  the  Department  of  History  of 
Earlham  College,  Indiana,  for  a  critical  reading  of  the  text. 

J.  W.  K. 

MOUNT  VERNON, 
NEW  YORK. 


CONTENTS 


IAPTEK 

I.     DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

II.     THE  INDIANS 

III.  THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES 

First  Settlements 25 

Virginia 26 

Maryland 

The  Carolinas  — North  and  South 

Georgia 

IV.  THE  DUTCH  AND  QUAKER  COLONIES 

New  York 45 

New  Jersey 52 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 57 


V.     THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES 


59 


Plymouth  Colony 

Massachusetts 

Rhode  Island 73 

Connecticut  and  New  Haven 76 

New  Hampshire  and  Maine 78 

The  New  England  Confederacy 81 

VI.     THE  COLONISTS  AND  THE  INDIANS 

VII.     A  CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL  LIFE 

VIII.     THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  THE  POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT 

French  Explorations  and  Settlements 1°6 

Wars  between  the  French  and  the  English    .        .        .        .111 

IX.     THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES 

X.     THE  REVOLT  AND  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  .         .     138 

XI.     THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

The  War  in  New  York  and  the  Middle  States 

The  War  in  the  South 164 

ix 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XII. 


PAGE 

THE  FORMATION  OF  A  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT        .         .         .  177 

XIII.  STARTING    THE    WHEELS    OF    GOVERNMENT    AND    ADJUSTING 

INTERNATIONAL  AFFAIRS         ......  190 

XIV.  TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION   AND  THE    WAR  FOR   COMMERCIAL 

INDEPENDENCE,  1800-1816 20G 

XV.     A  PERIOD  OF  INDUSTRIAL  GROWTH,  1789-1840       .         .         .  232 
XVI.     POLITICAL    EVENTS   FROM   THE    TREATY   OF    GHENT    TO   THE 

ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS,  1816-1845         .         .         .         .246 
XVII.     THE   EXPANSION   OF   SLAVERY;    POLITICAL   EVENTS;    INDUS 
TRIAL  PROGRESS,  1845-1860 270 

XVIII.     THE  CIVIL  WAR       .........  299 

Opening  Events  .........  299 

The  First  Year  of  the  War '  .  306 

The  Campaign  in  the  West,  January,  1862,  to  May,  1862  .  313 
The  War  in  the  East,  January,  1862,  to  July,  1863  .  .317 

Opening  the  Mississippi,  January,  1863,  to  July,  1863  .  325 
The  Campaign  in  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  July,  1863,  to 

July,  1864 .  .328 

The  Closing  Campaigns  in  Virginia,  May,  1864,  to  April, 

1865 331 

"Naval  Work  of  the  Civil  War,  1861  to  1865        .         .         .335 

Financing  the  War      ........  342 

Reconstruction 345 

XIX.     POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  1860  TO  1900 355 

XX.     INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS    .         .  374 

XXI.     THE   SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR  AND  TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  395 

XXII.     RECENT  EVENTS        .........  413 

APPENDIX 

The  Declaration  of  Independence     .......  3 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States      ......  8 

The  States 25 

Presidents  of  the  United  States         .......  32 

Topical  Analysis  for  Review     ........  33 

A  List  of  Reference  Books        ........  44 

A  Pronouncing  List  of  Proper  Names      ......  46 


INDEX 


49 


MAPS 

PAGE 

Trade  Routes  to  the  East 5 

The  World  as  known  in  the  Time  of  Columbus 6 

Toscanelli's  Map,  1474 8 

The  Line  of  Demarcation  and  the  Routes  of  Columbus's  Voyages          .  11 

Grants  of  London  and  Plymouth  Companies,  1606          ....  28 

The  Southern  Colonies    ..........  39 

The  Maiollo  Map,  1527 45 

The  Middle  Colonies 53 

The  New  England  Colonies 66 

The  Location  of  the  Eastern  Indian  Tribes 85 

French  Explorations  and  Forts        .         .         .         .         .         .         .  108 

The  Colonies  during  the  French  and  Indian  War.     (Colored)  Following  110 

The  Gateway  to  the  St.  Lawrence 112 

Gateways  through  the  Appalachians        .         .         .         .        .         .         .114 

The  Campaign  around  Boston,  1775-1776        ......  142 

Campaigns  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey       .         .         .         .         .        .155 

The  Campaigns  in  the  Middle  States       .......  159 

Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Northwest,  1778-1779 162 

The  Campaigns  in  the  South   .........  166 

The  States  and  their  Land  Claims  at  the  Close  of  the  Revolution. 

(Colored) .         .          Following  176 

The  Districts  of  Ohio 197 

The  United  States  in  1800.     (Colored)   ....          Following  206 

The  Expansion  resulting  from  the  Louisiana  Purchase    ....  208 

Western  Explorations,  1804-1806 211 

The  Route  of  the  Cumberland  Road        .......  213 

Scene  of  Operations  in  the  War  of  1812 221 

The  Development  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  1790-1810 

The  Regions  of  Cotton  and  of  Manufactures 236 

The  Route  of  the  Erie  Canal 241 

Slave  and  Free  Areas  after  the  Missouri  Compromise     ....  250 

The  Oregon  Country        .         . 267 

The  Territorial  Growth  of  the  United  States.     (Colored)         Following  270 

The  Mexican  War  .                                                             ....  277 


xu  MAPS 


The  United  States  in  1850,   showing  the  Result  of  the  Compromise 

regarding  Slavery.     (Colored)          ....          Following  284 

Where  Wheat  is  grown  in  the  United  States  ......  296 

The  United  States  during  the  Civil  War»     (Colored)      .         Following  298 

Scene  of  Operations  in  Virginia       ........  310 

Western  Campaigns.     (Colored)     .        .'..'..        .          Following  312 

The  Peninsular  Campaign        .........  318 

Virginia  Campaigns.     (Colored)     .                                             Following  318 
The  Battleground  of  Gettysburg      .         .         .         .         .        .                 .324 

The  Vicksburg  Campaign         ....         .....  326 

The  Limits  of  War  Territory,  May,  1861,  August  1,  1863,  and  January 

1,  1865.     (Colored)  ......         .          Following  328 

Sherman's  Campaign  in  Georgia     ........  331 

The  United  States  in  1906.     (Colored)    ....          Following  372 

A  Trunk  Railway  Line    ..........  375 

The  Hawaiian  Islands,  a  Station  on  Commercial  Routes         .         .  407 

The  Philippine  Islands     ..........  409 

The  United  States  and  its  Dependencies,  showing  Commercial  Routes. 

(Colored)          .....        ...         Following  412 


THE  MAKING  OP  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


CHAPTER  I       - 

DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

Chinese  and  Japanese  Legends. — 
When  we  speak  of  the  New  World, 
almost  always  the  mind  reverts  to 
the  voyage  of  Columbus  and  that 
eventful  day  in  October  when  the 
banner  of  Spain  was  unfurled  on 
the  island  which  the  great  ex 
plorer  named  San  Salvador.  But 
there  are  accounts  of  voyagers 
who  may  have  found  this  same 

• _^_^- "  ~~W  3P»  * 

^sf^  new  land  five  hundred  and  possi 

bly  one  thousand  years  before  the 
discoveries  of  the  great  explorer. 
Certain  legends  common  to  the  knowledge  of  both  the  Chinese 
and  the  Japanese  relate  the  deeds  of  one  Hwui  Shan,1  a  Buddhist 
missionary,  who  found,  many  miles  to  the  eastward  of 
China,  a  land  which  he  called  Fusang.2  About  the 
year  499  he,  with  five  brother  priests,  went  along  the 
coast  of  China  to  Kamchatka,  and  thence  by  way  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands  to  Alaska.  Hwui  Shan's  description  of  the  people  he 
found  applies  very  correctly  to  the  Aleuts  and  the  Eskimos 
living  in  this  region  to-day.  From  Alaska,  which  they  called 

1  For  the  pronunciation  of  difficult  names,  see  the  Appendix,  page  46. 

2  This  story  only  recently  came  into  the  literature  of  western  peoples.     A  few 
years  ago  the  Chinese  government  directed  one  of  its  best  scholars  to  search  the 
records  of  the  imperial  historian,  and  from  these  records  came  the  story  as  here 
given.    The  details  are  vague,  and  scholars  are  divided  between  assigning  the 
description  to  Japan  or  the  American  coast. 


A  NATIVE'S  HOME. 


The  Chinese 
find  America 


2  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Great  Han,  the  missionary  party  proceeded  along  the  coast  to 
Fusang.  Hwui  Shan  describes  the  houses  of  Fusang  as  made 
of  sun-dried  bricKs  of  mud,  and  containing  many  people  —  a 
description  which  fits  the  pueblos  of  ancient  America.  He  men 
tions  a  plant  which  was  used  in  making  both  cordage  and  paper, 
which  afforded  a  vegetable  milk,  and  which  yielded  tender 
sprouts  that  were  used  for  food.  Now  there  is  but  one  plant 
which  answers  to  this  description,  and  that  is  the  maguey.1  He 
also  describes  a  plant  and  its  fruit  which  must  have  been  the 
cactus,  or  prickly  pear.  Fusang,  according  to  these  accounts, 
was  very  much  like  Mexico. 

Whatever  credit  we  may  give  to  the  story,  one  fact  cannot  be 
overlooked.  Steady  winds  blow  from  China  and  Japan  toward 
Uncertainty  ^ne  Pacinc  coast  of  North  America,  dragging  with 
of  our  them  the  surface  drift  of  the  Japan  Current.  More- 

knowledge  OVer,  the  Chinese  of  the  coast  and  the  Japanese  are 
born  sailors,  and  their  junks,  numbering  tens  of  thousands,  went 
everywhere.  From  the  very  nature  of  the  conditions,  one  or 
more  of  these  junks  must  accidentally  have  been  blown  across 
the  ocean.  Certain  it  is,  too,  that  Asiatic  peoples  must  have 
crossed  Bering  Strait,  or  traversed  the  chain  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands.  But  the  records  and  proofs  concerning  such  voyages 
are  unsatisfactory,  and  the  evidence  of  them  is  circumstantial. 

Norse  Discoveries.  —  In  the  accounts  of  discoveries  by  adven 
turous  mariners  of  northern  Europe,  however,  we  are  dealing  with 
historic  facts  about  which  there  is  no  doubt;  and  although  the 
settlements  made  by  the  Northmen  have  no  connection  with  the 
history  of  modern  America,  we  should  at  least  notice  the  leading 
facts. 

Shortly  after  the  settlement  of  Iceland  (probably  875)  a  master 
mariner  named  Gunnbjorn  lost  his  reckoning  at  sea  and  was 

carried  to  the  unknown  Greenland  coast,  where   he 
Greenland  „          n   ,  ..   ,.          •    ,       -,     ,     -,  .  .  i 

was  torced  to  spend  the  winter  locked  in  an  ice  pack. 

This  land  was  again  visited,  about  983,  by  a  Norse  sea  rover 
named  Eric  the  Bed.  He  made  a  settlement  there,  and  in  time 
several  hundred  people  came  out  from  Iceland.  For  more  than 

l  Pronounced  ma'-gwa. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


8 


four  centuries  Greenland  was  a  commercial  center.  Late  in  the 
fourteenth  century  the  Danish  government  made  this  great  sea 
commerce  a  crown  monopoly  and  forbade  her  colonies,  Greenland 
and  Iceland,  either  to  engage  in  it,  or  even  to  own  the  vessels  in 
which  the  goods  were  carried.  As  a  result,  the  trade  dropped  off 
and,  little  by  little,  the  Greenland  colony  passed  out  of  existence. 
A  short  time  after  the  settlement  of  Greenland  an  adventurous 
young  fellow  named  Herjulf,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Greenland 

from   Iceland,  sailed  into   foggy  weather,  and  after 

.    ,  ,      P       *,  .,      ,.     ,          ,     Leif  Ericson 

several  days  came  in  sight  01  a  low,  heavily  timbered 

coast,  apparently  free  from  ice  and  snow.  Finding  his  position,  he 
turned  his  vessel  north 
eastward  to  his  home 
in  Greenland.  One  of 
the  hearers  of  Herjulf  a 
story  was  Leif  Ericson, 
a  son  of  Eric  the  Red. 
His  curiosity  was  ex 
cited,  and  he  resolved 
to  learn  for  himself 
about  the  strange  coast 
that  Herjulf  described. 
So  in  the  year  1000  he 
left  his  home  with  a 
crew  of  thirty-live  men. 
Their  first  landing  was  made  somewhere  along  the  coast  of 
Labrador  or  Newfoundland.  The  surface  was  so  thickly  covered 
with  rock  that  they  called  it  Helluland,  meaning  "Slateland."  It 
was  not  an  attractive  country,  and  so  they  turned  the  vessel  south 
ward  along  the  coast.  After  several  days  they  reached  a  timbered 
coast,  probably  that  of  Nova  Scotia,  which  they  named  Mark- 
land.  Thence  they  sailed  southward  for  two  days,  casting  anchor 
in  a  pleasant  place  where  Ericson  and  his  crew  resolved  to  spend 
the  fall  and  winter. 

In  the  following  spring  Leif  Ericson  returned  to  Greenland, 
his  vessel  laden  with  timber.  The  trade  in  lumber  proved  so 
successful  that  his  brothers,  one  after  another,  fitted  out  vessels 


THE  NORTHMEN  ON  THE  SEAS. 


4  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

to  engage  in  the  business,  which  was  regularly  carried  on  until 
the  year  1011.  Then  a  quarrel  ended  in  the  massacre  of  half  the 
people  of  the  settlement,  and  the  survivors  returned  to  Green 
land.  And  so  ended  the  settlement  at  Vinland,  as  it  was  called, 
the  first  definitely  known  to  have  been  established  by  Europeans 
in  America.1  No  evidence  exists  to  show  that  the  Norse  rovers 
intended  to  colonize  the  coast.  Their  settlement  was  a  lumber 
camp,  founded  for  commerce  and  for  no  other  purpose. 

The  visit  of  the  Ericson  brothers  should  not  be  considered  as 
the  finding  of  a  new  continent.  It  was  an  incident  and  a  note 
worthy  one  ;  but  it  is  wholly  apart  from  the  voyages  and  explora 
tions  that,  one  after  another,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  then 
unknown  continent. 

Trade  Routes  between  Europe  and  India.  —  The  blockading  of 
trade  routes  between  Europe  and  India,  more  than  five  hundred 
years  ago,  would  seem  to  have  little  connection  with  the  first 
settlement  of  the  United  States  of  America,  but  the  two  occur 
rences  are  links  in  the  same  chain  of  events.  During  the  wars 
of  the  Crusades  the  people  of  western  Europe  for  the  first  time 
began  to  have  open  trade  not  only  with  one  another,  but  also 
with  India  and  China.  Only  in  those  two  countries  could  then 
be  procured  the  silks,  muslins,  spices,  pearls,  gems,  and  ivory 
—  commodities  that  were  wanted  by  the  wealthy  people  of 
Europe.  A  splendid  trade  resulted  in  the  course  of  time,  and 
most  of  this  trade  concentrated  at  the  ports  of  Venice  and 
Genoa. 

Now,  although  we  commonly  consider  Europe  and  Asia  as  a 
single  great  body  of  laud,  as  a  matter  of  fact  an  almost  impass 
able  barrier  separates  them.  This  barrier  is  the  desert  highland 
that  rises  abruptly  in  front  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  culminates  in 
the  Hindu  Kush  plateau.  In  only  two  or  three  places  can  this 

1  Just  where  the  Vinland  camp  was  pitched  is  not  known.  Two  circumstances 
afford  a  slight  clew.  From  casual  statements  made  by  Leif  Ericson  it  has  been 
inferred  that  the  shortest  day  of  winter  was  about  nine  hours  long.  Moreover, 
they  found  an  abundance  of  wild  grapes,  probably  the  common  fox  grape,  and 
this  gave  the  camp  its  name.  From  these  statements  it  is  reasonable  to  believe 
that  Vinland  was  somewhere  between  Nova  Scotia' and  Massachusetts  Bay  — 
more  likely  nearer  the  latter  than  the  former. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  5 

lofty   highland   be    crossed;   in    two   or   three    others  it   can  be 
avoided.     The  chief  routes  of  travel  and  trade  were  :  — 

(1)  From    Venice  to  Alexandria,  through  the  Red   Sea,  to  the 

coast  of  India. 

(2)  From  Genoa  to  Constantinople,  by  way  of  the  Black  Sea,  the 

Tigris  and  Euphrates,  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  coast  of 
India. 

(3)  From  Constantinople  and  the  Black  Sea,  across  to  the  Cas 

pian  Sea,  up  the  Amu  Darya  (or  Oxus),  to  the  Indus. 


Route  from  Venice: 

Route  from  Genoa:    „ 

Route  from  Constantinople 
oute  of  Vasco  da  Gama:  — 


TRADE  ROUTES  TO  THE  EAST. 

The  Turks  blockade  the  Trade  Routes.  —  Half-savage  Turko 
mans  in  their  zeal  for  the  religion  taught  them  by  followers  of 
Mohammed  began  to  interfere  with  this  trade  of  the  Christian 
European  nations.  In  1453  they  captured  Constantinople,  and  a 
few  years  later  they  barred  every  other  gateway  to  the  East. 
Commerce  must  always  move  along  lines  in  which  there  are  no 
great  obstacles.  In  the  face  of  high  mountain  ranges  across 
which  there  are  no  passes,  or  over  wide  deserts,  the  transit  of 


6 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


goods  at  that  time  was  next  to  impossible.  Even  though  it  might 
be  possible  to  transport  the  goods,  the  cost  would  foe  so  great  as 
to  be  prohibitive.  This  blockading  of  the  trade  routes  caused  gen 
eral  concern,  for  people  were  beginning  to  realize  the  importance 
of  commerce  and  trade  routes. 

The  Search  for  a  Route  around  Africa.  —  Energies  were  di 
rected  toward  the  search  for  a  route  around  Africa  which  the 
Turks  could  not  blockade.  In  this  search  Portugal  took  the 


THE  WORLD  AS  KNOWN  IN  THE  TIME  OF  COLUMBUS. 

lead  —  mainly  from  the  fact  that  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal,  best 
known  as  "  the  Navigator,"  had  established  a  school  for  training 
master  mariners,  and  this  institution  had  drawn  to  itself  many  of 
the  best  sailors  of  the  Mediterranean.1 

Long  before  the  voyage  of  Columbus  the  Portuguese  sailors  were 
Vascoda  actively  at  work.  Many  geographers  believed  that 
Gama  Africa  was  a  peninsula,  and  therefore  there  must  be  a 

1  Pope  Eugenius  IV  had  conferred  (about  1442)  upon  Portugal  "all  heathen 
lands  from  Cape  Bojador  [on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  about  latitude  28°  North] 
eastward  even  to  the  Indies."  Spain  therefore  must  look  westward  for  her  route 
to  India,  and  her  sovereigns,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  were  consequently  interested 
in  the  proposals  of  Christopher  Columbus  for  an  expedition  across  the  Atlantic 
to  India. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


way  around  its  southern  point.  Under  the  direction  of  Prince 
Henry,  the  Portuguese  vessels,  one  after  another,  got  farther  and 
farther  along  the  west  coast  until,  in  1487,  Bartholomew  Dias 
passed  the  cape  now  called  Cape  of  Good  Hope.1  Ten  years  later 
(1497)  Vasco  da  Gama  rounded  the  cape  in  a  furious  cyclone  that 
carried  him  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  almost  to  the  west  coast 
of  India.  When  he  let  go  his  anchors,  his  vessel  was  at  the  city 
of  Calicut,  India.  And  thus  one  part  of  the  problem  of  reaching 
India  was  solved. 

The  Search  for  a  Westward  Route  :  Columbus.  —  Before  Vasco 
da  Gama  had  reached  India,  a  new  factor  was  introduced  into  the 
problem.  This  factor  was  a  man 
of  both  power  and  perseverance. 
His  name  was  Christopher  Colum 
bus.  Columbus  was  a  native  of 
the  state  of  Genoa,  and  possibly 
of  the  city  of  that  name ;  he  was 
born  within  a  few  years  of  1434. 
He  had  begun  a  sea-faring  life 
when  in  his  teens,  and  at  the  age 
of  fifty  was  well  known  as  a 
master  mariner  and  a  maker  of 
charts  and  globes.2 

Some  years  before  the  voyage 
of  Da  Gama,  Columbus  had  made 
up  his  mind  that  India  might 
be  reached  by  a  westward  route 
across  the  Atlantic  instead  of  eastward,  around  Africa.  In  reach 
ing  this  conclusion  he  had  been  guided  by  a  number  of  traditions 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


1  His  vessel  was  so  badly  shattered  by  a  cyclone  that  he  put  back  to  Portugal 
in  sore  distress.    He  called  the  headland  Cape  Tormentoso,  meaning  "  Cape  of  the 
Furies."    After  Da  Gama's  voyage,  however,  King  John  of  Portugal  gave  it  its 
present  name. 

2  Contrary  to  common  opinion,  the  rotundity  of  the  earth  was  generally  ac 
cepted  at  that  time  by  merchants,  sailors,  and  people  engaged  in  commercial 
pursuits.    Columbus  thought  the  circumference  to  be  20,400  miles,  and  this  ap 
pears  to  have  been  his  greatest  error.     Many  years  before,  Eratosthenes  had 
computed  it  at  25,290  nautical  miles ;  but  apparently  Coluinbus  did  n.Qt  know  this. 


8 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


about  land  to  the  west  in  the  untraveled  ocean.1  There  was  evi 
dence  which  none  could  gainsay.  Tropical  vegetation,  borne  by 
winds  and  ocean  currents,  had  been  cast  on  European  shores,  and 
so  also  had  the  drowned  bodies  of  people  of  a  swarthy-colored 
race.  Perhaps  the  matter  which  more  than  any  other  influenced 
him  was  a  letter  and  a  map  that  had  been  sent  by  Toscanelli,  the 


Or  CAPRICORN 

Columbus  saw  this  map  before  he 
sailed.  It  explains  the  general 

idea  of  the  site  of  the  World  at  that 
time  and  how  he  expected  to  find 

India  where  he  found  America. 


astronomer  of  Florence  in  Italy,  to  an  officer  in  the  household 
of  the  king  of  Portugal.  Toscanelli  believed  that  India  could 
be  reached  by  sailing  west  across  the  Atlantic.  He  afterward 
sent  a  copy  of  the  map  and  the  letter  to  Columbus,  and  this 
seems  greatly  to  have  strengthened  the  explorer's  determination. 
The  plans  of  Columbus  were  well  laid,  and  his  ideas  were  very 
clear.  It  was  about  eighteen  years,  however,  before  he  was  able 
to  carry  them  out. 

Although  both  Genoa  and  Venice  had  everything  to  gain  and 
nothing  to  lose  in  the  discovery  of  a  new  route  to  India,  neither 

1  Among  the  master  mariners  there  was  a  story  about  a  certain  Jean  Cousin 
whose  vessel  had  heen  blown  from  the  African  coast  clear  across  the  ocean  to  an 
unknown  land,  which  was  probably  Brazil.  This  actually  happened  to  Cabral  in 
1500.  Another  story  referred  to  Alonzo  Sanchez,  a  Spanish  pilot,  who  was  in 
similar  fashion  cast  ashore  on  the  island  now  called  Haiti.  This  story  was  com 
mon  at  the  time  and  was  known  to  Columbus.  Indeed,  the  air  was  full  of  that 
sort  of  talk,  and  had  been  since  the  blockade  of  the  old  trade  routes. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


9 


Columbus 
in  Portugal 


state  seems  to  have  taken  any  interest  in  the  matter.  Portugal 
alone  was  active ;  Columbus  therefore  turned  to  that  state.  He 
made  a  favorable  impression  on  King  John,  and,  had 
Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  been  living,  it  is  prob 
able  that  the  plans  of  Columbus  would  have  been 
accepted  by  the  Portuguese  king.  Unfortunately  for  Portugal, 
the  matter  was  referred  by  the  king  to  certain  learned  men  of 
the  state,  and  by  them  condemned.  The  king  then  fitted  out 
a  vessel  secretly  and  dispatched  it  along  the  route  suggested 
by  Columbus.  The 
master  of  the  vessel, 
however,  lacking  the 
courage  to  attempt 
such  an  uncertain 
voyage,  put  back  to 
Lisbon,  and  thus  the 
secret  was  out.  In 


disgust,  Columbus 
shook  the  dust  of 
Portugal  from  his 
feet  and  departed 
for  Spain. 

In    1486   he    sub 
mitted  his  plans  to 

•  .  THE  SANTA  MARIA.  l 

a  group  of  Spanish 

scholars,  and  the  latter  practically  derided  them.  Fortunately 
there  were  several  priests  among  them  who  were  inclined  to  give 
the  plans  of  Columbus  a  fair  trial,  and  their  influence 
finally  prevailed.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  all  the  idle 
gossip  about  India  made  it  a  country  of  fabulous 
wealth  had  something  to  do  with  the  favorable  decision  of  the 
king,  for  he  was  sorely  pressed  for  funds.  At  all  events  it  was 
Queen  Isabella  who  came  to  the  front  at  the  last  moment  and 
pledged  her  jewels  for  the  amount  necessary  to  fit  out  the  expedi 
tion.  A  flagship  and  two  caravels  were  purchased  for  the  expedi- 


in  Spain 


1  This  picture  is  from  a  photograph  of  the  caravels  built  for  the  Columbian 
Exposition  in  1893,  exactly  reproducing  the  ships  of  Columbus. 


10  THE  MARINO  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

tion ;  they  were  the  Santa  Maria  (or  Capitana),  the  flagship,  the 
Pinta,  and  the  Nina.  The  largest  of  the  three  was  about  ninety 
feet  in  length  over  all. 

The  First  Voyage  of  Columbus.  1492.  —  The  squadron  set  sail 
from  Palos,  a  small  seaport  of  Spain,  August  3, 1492.  The  ves 
sels  put  in  at  the  Canary  Islands  to  repair  the  rudder  of  the 
Pinta  ;  this  done,  they  turned  south  westward  headed,  as  Columbus 
thought,  for  Zipango,  or  Japan.  As  the  days  and  weeks  passed, 
the  crew,  a  motley  lot  of  roustabouts,  showed  signs  of  mutiny, 
and  laid  plans  to  throw  Columbus  overboard.  Then  their  fears 
were  calmed  by  occasional  signs  of  land,  and  so  the  squadron  kept 
on.  Columbus  had  understated  his  daily  runs  intentionally, 
so  that  by  October  7  the  real  distance  of  twenty-seven  hundred 
miles  was  made  to  appear  five  hundred  miles  less. 

In  a  few  days,  however,  the  signs  of  land  were  unmistakable, 
and  on  the  12th  of  October,  1492  (October  21,  present  style  of  reck 
oning),  seventy  days  after  their  starting,  land  was  sighted.  That 
same  morning  Columbus  went  ashore  on  one  of  the  islands  now 
known  as  the  West  Indies  and  took  possession  of  the  land  in 
the  name  of  Spain.  He  named  the  island  San  Salvador;  the 
natives,  of  whom  he  found  a  great  number,  called  it  Guana- 
hani.1  Columbus  spent  a  few  days  'among  the  islands,  feeling 
certain  that  he  was  near  the  coast  of  Asia.  The  natives  he  called 
Indians,  because  he  supposed  he  was  in  the  East  Indian  archi 
pelago.  He  found  many  of  them  wearing  gold  ornaments,  and  he 
learned  from  them  that  the  precious  metal  came  from  a  large 
island  to  the  southwest.  He  visited  this  island,  now  known  to  be 
Cuba,  thinking  it  might  be  Japan;  and  then  he  went  to  Haiti, 
which  he  named  Espagnola,  or  Little  Spain. 

On  Christmas  the  Santa  Maria  was  wrecked  on  a  shoal  off  the 
coast  of  Haiti.  From  the  timbers  of  this  vessel  Columbus  built 
a  fort,  and  left  in  it  a  small  garrison.  With  the  rest  of  his  men 
he  returned  to  Spain.  Fort  Nativity,  as  it  was  called,  was  the 

1  It  is  not  with  certainty  known  on  which  island  of  the  Bahama  group  the  first 
landing  was  made;  various  historians  have  favored  Cat  Island,  Turks,  and  Wat- 
ling,  but  the  strongest  evidence  is  in  favor  of  Samana,  or  Atwood  Key,  a  small 
island  northeast  of  Ackliu  and  Crooked  islands. 


DISCOVERIES  AND   EXPLORATIONS 


11 


first  European  colony  established  in  the  New  World,  after  the 
lumber  camp  of  Leif  Ericson,  nearly  five  hundred  years  earlier. 

Other  Voyages  of  Columbus  :  South  America  Discovered.  —  Colum 
bus  made  three  more  voyages,  in  which  he  discovered  other  islands 
of  the  West  Indies.  On  his  third  voyage  he  entered  the  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco  Iliver  (1498).  The  great  volume  of  the  stream, 


THE  LINE  OF  DEMARCATION,  AND  THE  ROUTES  OF  COLUMBUS'S  VOYAGES. 

greater  than  that  of  any  European  river,  convinced  him  that  it 
could  drain  nothing  less  than  a  continent ;  and  so  the  discovery 
of  South  America  justly  belongs  to  him.  On  his  fourth  voyage 
(1502-1504)  he  coasted  the  shore  of  that  part  of  North  America 
now  called  Central  America. 

The  gold,  gems,  and  spices  which  the  Spanish  monarch  had 
hoped  for  were  not  found.  Enemies  rose  up  to  plot  against  the 
great  discoverer,  and  he  died  forsaken  and  in  poverty.  His 


12  THE  MAKING   OK  THE  AMERICAN   NATION 

remains,  first  buried  at  Valladolid  in  Spain,  were  several  times 
removed,  and  to  this  day  no  one  knows  their  final  resting  place.1 
Columbus  died  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  land  he  had  found 
was  not  India. 

The  Outcome  of  the  Discoveries.  —  The  voyages  of  Columbus 
and  Da  Gama  are  turning  points  in  the  history  of  America 
and  of  Europe.  In  time  it  was  learned  that,  instead  of  a 
new  route  to  an  old  land,  a  new  world  was  discovered.  Still  it 
was  nearly  twoscore  years  after  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus 
before  Europe  seemed  to  realize  the  fact  that  an  unknown  con 
tinent,  and  not  the  eastern  shores  of  India  and  China,  had  been 
found. 

In  order  to  keep  peace  between  Spain  and  Portugal,  Pope  Alex 
ander  VI  (1494)  issued  a  decree  which  gave  to  Spain  all  lands 
west,  and  to  Portugal  all  lands  east,  of  the  meridian 
demarcation  ^at  ^aj  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues  west  of 
the  Azores  and  Cape  Verde.  Possibly  this  measure, 
which  established  the  "  line  of  demarcation,"  kept  a  nominal 
peace  between  the  two  countries,  but  it  left  open  the  gates 
to  hordes  of  adventurers  from  all  parts  of  maritime  Europe : 
and  for  more  than  a  century  afterward  the  history  of  the  New 
World  was  the  history  of  plunder,  rapine,  warfare,  and  massacre. 

The  Cabots  discover  the  Coast  of  North  America.  1497-1498.  — 
The  half  century  beginning  with  the  year  1475  was  a  period  of 
active  research  and  exploration.  In  addition  to  Da  Gama's  dis 
covery  of  the  cape  route  to  India  and  the  voyages  of  Columbus 
to  the  new  land  in  the  west,  several  other  expeditions  of  discovery 
were  undertaken  which  greatly  influenced  the  course  of  history. 

The  merchants  and  trading  companies  of  England  were  deter 
mined  to  look  ahead  for  the  possibilities  of  enlarging  their  field 
of  commerce.  In  1497  John  Cabot,  and  probably  his  son  Sebas 
tian,  undertook  to  find  a  shorter  route  to  India  by  the  northwest. 
Cabot  did  not  find  a  northwest  passage  to  India,  but  he  did  land 
upon  the  shores  of  Labrador  or  Newfoundland,  which  he  claimed 

1  The  sarcophagus  long  in  the  cathedral  at  Havana,  Cuba,  and  removed  to 
Spain  about  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  may  have  contained  the  remains 
of  his  son,  but  it  seems  certain  that  they  were  not  those  of  Columbus. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


13 


for  England.  He  was,  so  far  as  history  records,  the  first  European 
after  Leif  Ericson  to  see  North  America.  On  his  return  an  expe 
dition  of  five  ships  was  quickly 
fitted  out  for  further  explora 
tion.  The  squadron  of  vessels 
failed  to  force  a  passage  through 
the  ice-bound  straits  of  the 
northwest,  and  so  Cabot  turned 
southward  and  explored  the 
coast  possibly  as  far  as  Cape 
Hatteras  (1498).  Upon  this 
discovery  of  the  Cabots  England 
in  after  years  based  her  claim  to 
North  America.  In  an  account 
book  of  Henry  VII,  known  as 
the  "Privy  Purse,"  there  occurs 
this  entry :  — 

10th  August  1497.     To  him  that 
found  the  New  Isle  £10. 

Voyages  of  Vespucci.  1499- 
1503.  —  In  1499  Amerigo  Ves 
pucci,  a  master  mariner  of 
Florence  in  the  service  of  Por 
tugal,  became  an  active  factor 
in  exploration.  On  his  first 
voyage  he  followed  the  coast 
of  Venezuela  and  Guiana,  and 
possibly  he  may  have  con 
tinued  along  the  northeast  coast  of  Brazil.  His  subsequent 
expeditions  were  the  result  of  an  interesting  circumstance. 

It  seems  that  Cabral,  also  in  the  service  of  Portugal,  who  was 
following  the  African  coast,  got  into  foul  weather  and  was  carried 
westward  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  east  coast  of  Brazil.  He  was 
somewhat  surprised  at  the  sight  of  land  lying  so  far  to  the  east; 
he  knew  that  it  must  be  east  of  the  "  demarcation-  line "  and 
that  it  therefore  must  belong  to  Portugal  by  his  discovery. 
Cabral  dispatched  a  ship  to  the  king  to  inform  him  of  the  fact, 


THE  CABOT  MEMORIAL  TOWER  AT 
BRISTOL,  ENGLAND. 


14 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


AMERIGO  VESPUCCI. 


and  Vespucci  was  sent  to  explore  the  region.  His  three  ships 
seem  to  have  followed  about  eighteen  hundred  miles  of  coast,  and 

Vespucci  himself  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
or  Plata  River.  The  discoveries 
of  Cabral  and  Vespucci  secured 
Brazil  to  Portugal. 

The  report  of  Vespucci's  work 
greatly  interested  Europe.  Ves 
pucci  was  not  only  a 

good  explorer  but  an   Tfh! Daming 
of  America 

excellent  chronicler  as 
well,  and  his  accounts  of  his 
explorations  were  widely  read. 
There  had  been  traditions  for 
more  than  twenty  centuries  that 
the  world  "  contained  four  parts." 
Three  of  these,  Europe,  Asia,  and 
Africa,  were  known;  the  great 

new  continent  to  the  southwest  was  looked  upon  as  the  "  fourth 
part." 1  Waldseemiiller,  a  German  geographer,  proposed  calling 
the  "  fourth  part "  America,  in  honor  of  Amerigo  Vespucci.  This 
name  was  in  time  applied  to  the  whole  northern  and  southern 
continent. 

Completing  the  Discovery  of  America.  —  The  growing  belief  that 
the  new  land  was  not  a  part  of  Asia  was  intensified  when,  in  1513, 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  in  the  service  of  Spain,  crossed 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  discovered  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  or  South  Sea,  as  he  named  it.  The  belief  was  confirmed 
by  the  most  remarkable  voyage  ever  made  up  to  that  time. 

Ferdinand  Magellan,  as  the  name  is  called  in  English,  a  Portu 
guese  master  mariner  in  the  service  of  Spain,  conceived  the  idea 
of  reaching  the  Molucca  Islands,  lying  to  the  southeast  of  Asia, 

1  Herodotus  expresses  the  opinion,  "All  men  say  that  the  earth  contains 
three  parts,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Libya  (Africa),  now  certainly  they  should  add  a 
fourth  part,  the  Delta  land  of  Egypt."  The  geography  of  Mela  also  taught  that 
there  were  four  parts,  though  Ptolemy's  geography  claimed  only  three. 


Balboa 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


15 


by  a  westward  passage.     In  order  to  avoid  the  Portuguese  and 
the  English  lands,  he  determined  upon  a  southerly  course.     In 
1519  he  cleared  from  the  coast  of  Spain  with  five  ships 
and   two   hundred   and   eighty  men.      Fallowing  the 
east  coast  of  South  America,  they  reached  a  break  in  the  coast 
which  proved  to  be  the  strait  now  bearing  the  commander's  name. 
It  required  five  weeks  to  work  the  ships  through  the  strait. 
About  this  time  one  ship  was  wrecked  and  one  deserted.     During 
their   long   voyage   across    the 
Pacific,  the  crew  of  the  three 
remaining  vessels  suffered  most 
horribly  from  starvation.    They 
stopped  at  one  of  the  islands 
now  called  the  Ladrones  and  at 
the  Philippines,  where  Magel 
lan  was  killed  in  a  fight  with 
the  natives.    Thence  the  squad 
ron  proceeded  to  the  Moluccas, 
where  one  ship  was  burned  and 
another   condemned   as   unsea- 
worthy.     After  three  years  of 
^hardship    and    suffering,    one 
ship,  with  eighteen  starved  and 

,    .    ,  .,     -.    . 

scurvy-stricken  men,  sailed  in 
to  the  Guadalquivir  Eiver  of 
Spain.  The  surviving  ship  of 
the  squadron  had  sailed  around  the  world.1 

Even  after  Magellan's  voyage,  it  was  more  than  half  a  century 
before  the  fact  that  America  was  a  continent  was  fully  realized. 
Other  work  of  discovery  and  exploration  was  necessary.  Eirst 
among  these  explorations  was  the  voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake 
(1577-1580).  Drake  passed  through  the  Strait  of  Magellan  and 
skirted  the  west  coast  of  the  continent  to  a  point  a  little  way 
.north  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  He  returned  to  England  by  way 

1  The  captain  of  the  surviving  ship  secured  a  royal  coat  of  arms  bearing  a  globe 
upon  which  was  inscribed  the  legend,  "Primus  circumdedisti  me  (thou  first  cir- 
cumscribedst  me)." 


THE  TOMB  OF  MAGELLAN,  ON  THE 
SPOT  WHERE  HE  FELL. 


16  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

of  the  Molucca  Islands.  Martin  Frobisher  (1576-1578),  John 
Davis  (1585-1587),  Henry  Hudson  (1607-1609),  and  William 
Baffin  (1615)  visited  the  coast  along  the  northeast  in  search  of  a 
route  to  Asia.  It  was  more  than  two  centuries  after  Magellan's 
voyage  (1728)  that  the  strait  which  separates  America  from  Asia 
was  discovered  by  Veit  Bering. 

The  Spaniards  in  North  America.  —  Many  daring  men,  in  the 
service  of  Spain,  explored  the  coasts  and  inland  region  of  North 
America. 

Vicente  Pinzon  and  Juan  Solis  (1498)  explored  the  South  Atlan 
tic  and  Gulf  coasts. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  governor  of  Porto  Eico  (1513),  discovered  Florida 
while  seeking  the  fountain  of  perpetual  youth. 

Alvarez  de  Pineda  (1519)  explored  the  Gulf  Coast  and  entered  the 
river  de  Santo  Espiritu  —  probably  Mobile  Bay  and  River,  pos 
sibly  the  Mississippi  or  Appalachicola.  He  reported  much 
gold  in  the  hands  of  the  natives. 

Hernando  Cortez  (1519)  entered  upon  the  conquest  of  Mexico. 

Panfilo  de  Narvaez  (1528)  explored  the  region  about  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  De  Vaca  continued  the  exploration  to  the  Gulf  of 
California. 

Fray  Marcos  (1539)  searched  the  region  about  New  Mexico  for 
the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,  in  the  country  of  the  Zuni  Indians.  * 

Francisco  Coronado  (1540-1542)  explored  regions  about  the  Rio 
Grande  and  the  Colorado  River. 

Hernando  de  Soto  (1539-1541)  explored  the  region  embracing  the 
South  Atlantic  states  as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi  River. 

From  the  foregoing  summary  it  is  readily  seen  that  the  Span 
iards  were  very  active  in  exploring  the  New  World.  Few  of  the 
explorations  seem  to  have  been  looking  toward  the  establishment 
of  colonies ;  practically  all  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  trade  or 
else  in  search  of  gold.  The  conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortez  and  the 
settlement  of  Cuba  probably  incited  most  of  the  other  expeditions, 
and  these  were  confined  mainly  to  the  region  about  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

Pineda's  accounts  of  the  gold  held  by  the  Indians  were  plaus 
ible  because  Cortez  had  actually  obtained  much  gold  treasure 
from  Montezuma,  the  Aztec  king  in  Mexico.  In  turn,  Narvaez 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  17 

was  led  by  the  stories  of  Pineda  to  undertake  the  expedition  that 
led  to  his  death,  by  drowning,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  Some  of  his  survivors,  however,  crossed  the  continent 
under  the  lead  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca. 

These  men -brought  back  the  report  that  far  inland  were  seven 
great  cities.     The  story,  as  it  was  told,  had  all  the  glamour  of  mar 
velous  tales  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  and  the  Spanish 
governor  of  Mexico  sent  Brother  Mark  (Fray  Marcos),     he 
a  Franciscan  friar,  in  search  of  the   cities.     Brother 
Mark  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  was  therefore  expected  to 
accomplish  by  tact  what  his  military  predecessors  had  thought  to 
win  by  force  of  arms.     He  found  not  seven  great  cities,  but   a 
number  of  Indian  settlements,  pueblos  of  the  Zuni  tribe.     In  spite 
of  this  disillusion,  in  the  following  year  (1540)  Coronado,  with  a 
force  of  more  than  one  thousand  men,  proceeded  against  the  seven 
cities.     He  apparently  thought  that  the  pueblos  were  not  worth 
having,  and  so  continued  his  march  over  the  plains  probably  as 
far  as  the  boundary  of  the  present  state  of  Nebraska.     He  looked 
for  gold,  but  found  none.    The  expedition  then  returned  to  Mexico. 

De  Soto's  expedition  also  was  a  result  of  that  of  Narvaez.     De 
Soto  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Cuba,  and  was  ordered  to 
hold  all  the  territory  discovered  by  Narvaez.      His  Dg 
explorations  were  carried  on  mainly  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  pestilential 
fever  that  still  lingers  there.     His  body  was  silently  buried  in  the 
river,  and  his  followers  made  their  way  down  the  river  and  across 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Cuba. 

Up  to  this  time  not  a  single  permanent  settlement  had  been 
founded  within  the  main  body  of  land  that  now  constitutes  the 
United  States ;  but  immediately  after  the  expedition  Spanish 
of  Coronado,  Catholic  missionaries    seemed  to  be  in  missions; 
almost  every  place  where  an  explorer's  feet  had  trod,  Santa  Fe 
and  missions  were  established  through  the  southern  part  of  the 
country.     Of  these  missions  that  at  Santa  Fe  was  the  most  im 
portant.     When  first  visited  by  "an  exploring  party  (about  1541), 
Santa  Fe  was  a  thriving  Indian  pueblo  having  a  population  of 
fifteen  thousand ;  in  1582  it  became  a  Spanish  mission. 


18  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


SUMMARY 

According  to  Chinese  legends,  Alaska  and  perhaps  the  western  part 
of  North  America  were  discovered  about  500  A.D. 

About  1000  A.D  Leif  Ericson,  with  a  company  of  Northmen,  estab 
lished  a  lumber  camp  at  Vinland,  probably  some  point  in  New  England. 
This  settlement  had  no  influence  on  the  history  of  America. 

The  blockade  of  the  trade  routes  between  Europe  and  the  East  led 
to  the  search  for  a  route  to  India  by  sailing  around  Africa ;  and  this 
was  finally  discovered  by  Vasco  da  Gama. 

Columbus,  endeavoring  to  reach  the  shores  of  India  by  a  westward 
voyage  in  1492,  discovered  land  that  proved  to  be  a  new  continent  un 
known  to  Europeans. 

The  new  continent  was  named  America  after  Amerigo  Vespucci,  an 
explorer  and  chronicler. 

The  Cabots  explored  portions  of  the  northern  coast  of  North  Amer 
ica  in  1497-1498,  and  their  discovery  was  made  the  basis  of  England's 
claims  to  the  mainland  of  the  continent. 

The  discovery  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  Balboa,  together  with  the  voy 
age  of  Magellan's  squadron  around  the  world,  practically  showed  that 
Columbus  had  not  discovered  the  eastern  shores  of  India. 

Most  of  the  voyages  and  explorations,  especially  those  of  Spain,  were 
a  quest  for  gold. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

The  Discovery  of  America  —  Fiske.     Chapter  III. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  —  Prescott.     Chapters  VIII,  IX,  XVIII. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  I.     Chapters  I,  II,  III. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   INDIANS 

The  Origin  of  the  Indians.  —  The  origin  of  the  race  to  which  the 
name  Indians  has  been  given  is  not  with  certainty  known.  Some 
have  claimed  that  they  are  the  descendants  of  peoples  who,  at 
some  time  in  the  remote  past,  crossed  to  America  by  way  of 
Bering  Strait.  The  student  of  history  should  remember  that 
changes  in  the  elevation  of  the  land  are  constantly  taking  place, 
and  that  in  times  gone  by  Asia  and  America  were  joined  at  Bering 
Strait  by  a  broad  belt  of  land.  At  that  time  Asians  might  have 
crossed  to  the  American  continent.  But  although  it  is  certain 
that  people  have  in  early  times  reached  the  American  coast  across 
Bering  Strait,  the  statement  that  Asians  peopled  all  America  has 
not  been  proved. 

Beyond  doubt  the  aboriginal  peoples  whom  we  call  Indians 
must  have  been  living  in  America  many  centuries  before  ever 
a  European  had  reached  its  shores,  for  the  heaps  of 
discarded  shells  which  they  left  scattered  all  over 
the  continent  from  Maine  to  California  must  have 
required  a  very  long  time  to  accumulate.  In  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  especially  in  Ohio,  there  are  many  mounds  of  earth  — 
some  of  them  wrought  into  fantastic  shapes  —  which  were  built 
by  the  peoples  who  followed  the  makers  of  the  shell  heaps.  In 
the  Colorado  plateau  one  may  still  find  the  dismantled  walls  of 
more  recently  built  pueblos,  some  made  of  roughly  shaped  stone, 
others  of  sun-dried  brick ;  these  were  built  by  the  aborigines  only 
a  few  centuries  ago. 

In  Mexico  and  South  America  the  aborigines  had  reached  a 
stage  of  advancement  that  savored  of  barbaric  splendor.  More 
over,  they  lived  at  a  time  which  belongs  to  the  period  of  written 

19 


20 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


history.  The  Aztecs,  whom  Cortez  found  in  Mexico,  and  the 
Peruvians,  whose  rulers  Pizarro  so  cruelly  exterminated,  do  not 
belong  to  the  legendary  period  ;  they  were  facts  and  factors  in  the 
real  history  of  America. 

Indian  Civilization.  —  The  romance  of  history  is  so  fascinating 
that  we  are  apt  to  magnify  the  greatness  of  these  peoples.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  they  had  not  reached  civilization  at  all.  In 
the  struggle  for  existence  some  tribes  had  surpassed  others  in  the 
ability  to  organize  and  to  wield  power  with  intelligence.  There 


THE  INDIAN  PUEBLO  OF  ZUNI. 

was  very  little  of  common  interest  between  tribes ;  indeed, 
they  were  almost  always  at  war  with  one  another.  Commercial 
pursuits  were  practically  unknown. 

The  Indian  warrior  disdained  every  employment  save  the  hunt 
and  the  warpath.  In  these  pursuits  he  was  most  expert.  He 
could  track  his  prey  along  a  trail  so  blind  that  a 
trained  white  woodsman  would  not  suspect  its  exist 
ence.  In  acuteness  his  sight  was  much  like  the  scent 
ing  power  of  a  hound.  He  could  perfectly  imitate  the  call  of  the 
wild  animals,  and  could  stalk  his  prey  with  the  stealthy  tread 
of  a  cat.  His  patience  and  endurance  were  marvelous ;  half  clad 


The  Indian 
warrior 


THE  INDIANS 


21 


as  he  crept  through  the  forest,  he  seemed  to  feel  neither  cold 
nor  hunger.  War  was  his  chief  delight,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
foe  he  was  revengeful  and  cruel.  He 
took  fiendish  delight  in  torturing  his 
captive  foe,  and  his  ingenuity  in  devis 
ing  the  most  horrible  way  of  putting  a 
victim  to  death  was  extraordinary.  In 
their  general  dealings  with  the  white 
men,  however,  the  Indians  were  fairly 
well  disposed  ;  they  were  also  about  as 
honest  in  business  transactions  as  were 
the  white  men. 

To  the  squaws  fell  the  drudgery  of 
domestic  life.  It  was  the  squaw  whose 
labor  built  the  wigwam,  or 
1  wickiup,  planted  the  maize 
and  beans,  and  stored  them  for  winter 
use.  With  nothing  better  th&n  a 
pointed  stick  of  hard  wood  and  a  flat 
piece  of  pine,  she  could  kindle  a  fire. 
With  no  tools  but  a  knife  and  a 
hatchet  of  flint,  she  was  as  skillful  in  handicraft  as  her  dusky 
husband.  With  such  tools  they  felled  birch  trees  and,  from  the 
bark,  fashioned  canoes,  the  seams  of  which  were  sewed  with 
rawhide  and  made  water-tight  with  the  pitch  of  the  spruce  tree. 
Most  of  the  Indians  had  reached  that  stage  of  advancement 
when  they  were  ready  to  cast  aside  tools  of  flint  for 
those  of  metal.  The  white  man  furnished  them  with 
the  tools  of  metal.  The  knife  and  the  hatchet  which 

the  Indian  discarded  were  made 
by  chipping  pieces  of  flint  into 
shape.  The  making  of  them  re 
quired  days  and  even  weeks.  The 
tomahawk  had  a  pointed  blade 
and  a  handle  that  was  elaborately 
carved.  It  was  used  as  a  weapon  of  war,  and  an  expert  warrior 
could  hurl  it  with  faultless  aim  at  the  head  of  his  foe. 


AN  INDIAN  SQUAW  AND 
PAPOOSE. 


Tools  and 
weapons 


AN  Ax  OF  FLINT. 


22 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


The  bow  and  arrow,  however,  constituted  the  chief  weapon. 
The  head  of  the  arrow  was  made  usually  of  flint;  the  wooden 
shaft  was  scraped  into  shape  with  a  sharp  edge  of  rock  and 
finished  between  two  pieces  of  grooved  rock.  The  shaft  was 
feathered  to  give  to  it  the  whirling  motion  necessary  to  accurate 
aim.  With  the  coming  of  the  white  man,  the  Indian  at  once 
began  to  discard  flint  for  the  more  usable  iron  and  steel,  in  mak 
ing  his  arrowheads  and  knives.  He  also  quickly  discerned  the 
value  of  the  flintlock  musket,  and  to  possess  himself  of  such  a 
weapon  he  would  barter  away  about  all  the  property  he  had. 

The  Iroquois  Confederacy.  —  Of  all  the  Indians  with  whom  the 
Europeans  came  in  contact,  the  Iroquoian  tribes  were  the  most 
powerful.  Most  of  these  tribes  were  settled 
in  what  is  now  New  York  State ;  some  pushed 
southward  along  the  Susquehanna  Valley  ; 
and  one  tribe,  the  Tuscaroras,  lived  in  the 
present  state  of  North  Carolina.  From  a 
strategic  standpoint  the  location  in  New  York 
was  most  wisely  chosen.  It  was  the  most 
commanding  position  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  continent.  Toward  the  northeast,  the 
Iroquoians  could  easily  descend  the  St.  Law 
rence.  On  the  east,  there  was  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  a  broad  and  level  stretch  that  led  to 
the  Hudson  Kiver  and  thence  to  the  sea.  To 
the  south  were  the  open  valleys  of  the  Sus 
quehanna  and  the  Allegheny,  both  of  which 
opened  into  the  hunting  grounds  of  the 
Algonquian  tribe.  In  such  a  position  as  this 
the  Iroquoians  were  bound  to  become  great, 
and  the  wily  old  sachems 1  knew  this  only  too  well.  Even  to-day 
the  advantage  of  this  location  is  evident,  for  the  great  railway 
company  whose  tracks  thread  these  gateways  exercises  such  con 
trol  that  it  practically  regulates  the  rates  of  traffic  between  the 
Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

About  fifty  years  before  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus,  the  five 
1  The  sachem  was  the  chief  of  a  tribe. 


A  CHIEF  OF  THE 
IROQUOIANS. 


THE  INDIANS  23 

tribes   of  central  New  York  formed  the  Iroquois  Confederacy, 
calling  themselves  the  Five  Nations.     All  who  refused  to  join 
them  were  set  upon  and  exterminated,  or  were  driven  east  across 
the  Hudson  River.     Within  a  few  years  the  tribes  of 
the  Iroquois  Confederacy  were   masters   everywhere      ™h!-Flve 
from  the  Hudson  to  the  Ohio.     They  were  a  scourge 
upon  other  Indian  tribes,  exterminating  all  those  from  whom  they 
could  not  force  an  annual  tribute,  as  they  did  from  the  Mohegans 
and  some  of  the  Algonquians  to  the  south.     About  1715  the  Tus- 
caroras  left  their  territory  in  North  Carolina  and  joined  the  con 
federacy,  thus  forming  the  Six  Nations. 

The  great  power  of  the  Six  Nations  lay  partly  in  their  organi 
zation,1  which  was  directed  by  sachems  chosen  for  their  ability  in 
statecraft ;  but  they  were  aided  materially  by  the  firearms  pro 
vided  by  the  fur  traders,  who  soon  followed  the  explorers. 
These  arms  made  them  vastly  superior  to  the  tribes  whose  best 
weapon  was  the  bow  and  arrow.  When  the  Dutch  settled  New 
York,  they  provided  the  Iroquoian  tribes  with  muskets  and,  at 
the  same  time,  forbade  the  Indians  in  the  lower  Hudson  Valley 
to  have  them;  with  such  an  advantage  in  their  favor,  the  Six 
Nations  had'  no  effective  opposition  among  the  Indians. 


SUMMARY 

The  origin  of  the  American  Indian  is  not  known.  By  some  it  is 
thought  that  the  aborigines  came  from  Asia  to  America  long  before  the 
period  of  written  history. 

i  The  plan  of  government  bore  some  resemblance  to  that  of  the  United  States. 
Each  tribe  was  self-governing,  but  there  was  also  a  central  government  consisting 
of  a  Great  Council.  This  body  consisted  of  fifty  sachems,  elected  by  certain  clans  of 
the  tribes.  Once  a  year  the  Council  met  in  the  "  Castle,"  or  council  house  of  the 
confederacy,  not  far  from  the  present  site  of  Syracuse.  In  their  proceedings  the 
Great  Council  adopted  the  "unit  rule";  that  is,  each  tribe  had  a  single  vote. 
There  was  no  head  sachem ;  instead,  the  Council  elected  a  military  commander 
who  also  exercised  certain  civil  powers.  A  vote  of  the  Council  pledged  the 
action  of  the  confederacy.  The  vote  of  the  tribe,  like  that  of  a  modern  jury, 
was  required  to  be  unanimous  in  order  to  count.  One  tribe,  therefore,  might 
block  the  will  of  the  Council.  The  sachems  of  one  tribe  might  call  an  extra 
session  of  the  Council. 


24  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Some  tribes  progressed  more  rapidly  than  others  and,  when  the 
Europeans  came,  were  in  the  higher  stages  of  barbarism,  approaching 
civilization. 

The  Iroquoian  tribes  were  the  most  advanced  and  most  powerful  of 
all  the  Indians. 

The  famous  confederacy  of  the  Five  Nations  was  formed  about  fifty 
years  before  the  voyage  of  Columbus.  It  afterward  became  the  Six 
Nations,  by  the  addition  of  the  Tuscaroras. 

COLLATERAL  READING 

Discovery  of  A  merica  —  Fiske.     Chapter  I. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES 

FIRST  SETTLEMENTS 

Early  Attempts  at  Settlement.  —  The  division  of  the  New  World 
between  Spain  and  Portugal  did  not  strike  the  other  European 
nations  agreeably.  England,  not  being  a  Catholic  country,  would 
not  recognize  at  ail  the  decree  of  Pope  Alexander  VI ;  the  Neth 
erlands  and  Sweden  ignored  it ;  France  ridiculed  it,  and  French 
adventurers  frequently  cruised  along  the  American  coast.  A 
party  of  Huguenots,1  headed  by  Jean  Ribault,  attempted  (1562) 
to  establish  a  colony  where  Port  Royal  in  South  Carolina  is,  but 
they  were  ill-fitted  for  frontier  life.  Some  of  them  were  rescued 
by  an  English  vessel ;  others,  including  Ribault,  went  to  Florida. 

Another  party,  under  Laudonniere,  built  Fort  Caroline,  at  the 
mouth  of  St.  Johns  River,  in  Florida.     In  order  to  head  them  oft', 
the  king  of  Spain  ordered  troops  (1565)  to  the  place 
where    St.    Augustine    now   stands.      Menendez,   the  tin'e  ugus~ 
Spanish  commander,  assailed  the  Huguenots  at  Fort 
Caroline  and  massacred  the  whole  garrison  —  men,  women,  and 
children.     Learning  also  that  Ribault  with  some  of  his  followers 
was  near  by,  he  sought  them,  murdered  most  of  them,  and  made 
slaves  of  the  rest. 

There  was  no  excuse  for  this  foul  murder.  In  retaliation 
Dominique  de  Gourges,  a  Frenchman,  sold  his  estates  in  France 
to  raise  the  necessary  funds,  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  two  hun 
dred  men,  captured  Fort  Caroline,  and  put  every  Spaniard  of 
the  garrison  to  death.  Above  the  ruins  of  the  fort  he  placed 
the  inscription  —  "Not  as  to  Spaniards,  but  as  to  liars  and  mur- 

» These  Huguenots  were  Protestants  who  had  fled  from  France. 
25 


26 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


derers."  Menendez  himself  was  not  at  the  fort,  and  therefore 
escaped  the  punishment.  The  garrison  at  St.  Augustine  was 
maintained  by  the  Spaniards,  and  it  was  the  first  permanent 
settlement  in  the  main  body  of  what  is  now  the  United  States. 


VIRGINIA 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Colonies.  1585-1590.  —  The  English  did 
not  avail  themselves  of  Cabot's  discovery  for  nearly  a  century. 
In  1578  -Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  received  a  charter  from  Queen 

Elizabeth  to  settle  Newfoundland, 
but  the  colony  which  he  started  was 
abandoned  on  his  death  in  1583. 
Walter  Raleigh,  a  half-brother  of 
Gilbert,  then  obtained  permission  to 
establish  a  colony  in  America,  pro 
vided  it  could  be  done  without  tres 
passing  on  the  claims  of  any  other 
European  power.  In  1585  Raleigh 
made  a  settlement  at  Roanoke 
Island,  off  the  coast  of  the  present 
state  of  North  Carolina ;  the  country 
was  named  Virginia  in  honor  of  the 
virgin  queen.  The  people  com 
posing  the  first  lot  of  settlers  were 
wholly  unfit  for  pioneer  life,  and, 
when  almost  starved,  were  rescued 
by  Sir  Francis  Drake  and  carried 
back  to  England.  About  the  only  result  of  this  attempt  to  colo 
nize  was  the  discovery  of  the  potato  and  tobacco  plants,  both  of 
which  quickly  found  favor  in  Europe.  In  time  the  commercial 
profits  from  these  articles  helped  greatly  to  interest  merchants 
in  the  settlements  of  the  New  World. 

Raleigh's  second  attempt  (1587)  also  resulted  disastrously.  A 
number  of  families  under  John  White  landed  at  Roanoke  Island, 
intending  to  establish  a  colony  there.  Soon  after  they  reached 
Roanoke  a  child  was  born  to  Eleanor  Dare,  the  daughter  of  Gov- 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES  27 

ernor  White ;  this  child,  who  was  christened  Virginia  Dare,  was 
probably  the  first  child   born  of   English    parents  in   the  New 
World.     White  was  compelled  to  return  to  England  almost  im 
mediately.     He  found  that  the  war  with  Spain  had  drawn  into 
service  nearly  every  available  vessel,  and  it  was  three   Disappear- 
years  before  he  could  charter  one  in  which  to  return   ance  of  the 
to  his  colony.     When  he  arrived,  in  1590,  not  a  sign  colony 
of  the  colonists  was  to  be  found ;  not  one  of  them  was  ever  seen 
again.1     Raleigh,  sick  at  heart,  disposed  of  his  charter,  and  no 
other   attempt   at  colonization  was   made  during   the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  London  and  Plymouth  Companies.     1606.  —  Early  in  the  fol 
lowing  century  the  work  of  exploration  and  settlement  was  facili 
tated  by  the  discovery  of  a  route  that  shortened  the 
sailing  distance  between  Europe  and  America  nearly   A  "®w 
one  half.     This  discovery  was  made  by  Bartholomew 
Gosnold,  an  English  navigator.      Instead  of  going  first  to  the 
West  Indies  and  then  to  the  American  coast,  as  had  been  the 
custom,  Gosnold  simply  laid  the  route  straight  across  the  ocean, 
landing  at  Cape  Cod. 

The  importance  of  this  route  was  at  once  apparent  to  the 
thrifty  merchants  of  England,  and  as  a  result  King  James  I 
in  1606  chartered  two  companies,  the  London  and  the  Plymouth, 
directing  them  to  establish  colonies  in  Virginia.  According  to 
the  charter,  Virginia  embraced  all  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Maine 
to  the  Spanish  boundary  in  Florida.  The  London  company 
might  occupy  the  coast  between  the  thirty-fourth  and  thirty- 
eighth  parallels,  which  was  the  area  from  Cape  Fear  to  the 

1  It  had  been  agreed  that  if  the  colonists  should  leave  the  island,  the  name 
of  the  place  whither  they  went  should  be  carved  on  a  certain  tree.  When  White 
reached  Roanoke  Island,  the  settlement  was  deserted.  The  word  "  Croatan,"  the 
name  of  a  near-by  island,  was  carved  on  the  tree,  but  there  was  no  cross  to  indi 
cate  that  they  had  left  the  island  in  distress,  as  had  been  agreed.  White  tried 
to  reach  Croatan  Island,  but  foul  weather  prevented;  the  captain  of  the  ship 
headed  for  England,  giving  White  the  choice  of  going  with  him  or  remaining 
alone  on  the  deserted  island.  Recent  researches  seem  to  indicate  that  some  of 
the  lost  colonists  were  killed  by  Indians,  others  perished,  and  those  remaining 
were  taken  into  the  Croatan  tribe.  No  positive  facts  about  the  matter  have  ever 
been  brought  to  light. 


28 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Potomac  River;  the  Plymouth  company  might  settle  between 
the  forty-first  and  forty-fifth  parallels,  from  the  Hudson  River 
to  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  intermediate  territory  should  be 
a  neutral  zone  which  could  be  occupied  by  each  company  to  a 
point  not  nearer  than  one  hundred  miles  of  the  other.  By  a 
subsequent  charter  each  grant  extended  westward  to  the  "  South 


GRANTS  OF  LONDON 

AND  PLYMOUTH  COMPANIES., 

1606 

PLYMOUTH  CO. 


Sea,"  or  Pacific  Ocean.     The  colonists  were  to  have  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  English  subjects.1 

The  Plymouth  company,  in  1606,  attempted  to  establish  a 
colony  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  River,  but  the  attempt 
failed  and  the  colonists  returned  to  England. 

1  All  the  land  and  the  products  of  lahor  were  to  be  held  in  common  for  five 
years.  This  community  plan  was  afterward  abolished. 


THE  SOUTHERN   COLONIES  29 

The  London  company  got  ready  three  ships,  and  in  1607  sent 
out  a  party  which  made  a  settlement  on  a  river  flowing  into 
Chesapeake  Bay.      The  river  was  named  the  James    The  f 
and  the  settlement  Jamestown  in  honor  of  the  king,    ing  of 
In  the  main  the  colonists  consisted  of  "  gentlemen," l   Jamestown. 
who  had  no  thought  of  working,  but  expected  to  grow  rich  from 
rinding  gold  and  from  trade  with  the  Indians.     Half  of  the  colo 
nists  died  before  the  summer  was  over,  but  in  the  fall  about  five 
hundred  more  men  arrived. 

Smith's  Leadership ;  the  Starving  Time.  —  Practically  the  only 
leader  among  the  Jamestown  colonists  was  Captain  John  Smith. 
Smith  kept  a  wholesome  discipline 
among  the  motley  crowd,  and  prevented 
any  hostile  outbreak  between  the  colo 
nists  and  the  Indians.  At  various 
times,  when  starvation  threatened  the 
colonists,  he  secured  supplies  of  corn 
from  the  Indians.  Although  the  burden 
of  support  thus  rested  on  Smith,  he 
found  time  to  do  considerable  explora 
tion,  which  enabled  him  to  make  an 
excellent  sailing  chart  of  the  Virginia 
coast,  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  its 
tributaries.  On  one  of  his  trips  he 

was  captured  by  Indians  and  sentenced  to  be  killed,  but  his  life 
was  saved  by  the  intercession  of  Pocahontas,  the   daughter   of 

1  In  England  the  terms  "gentlemen"  and  "gentry"  apply  to  men  who  are 
descended  from  titled  families  but  are  themselves  without  any  title  of  nobility. 
In  former  years  it  was  considered  disgraceful  for  a  gentleman  to  engage  in  the 
ordinary  occupations  of  life.    Those  who  did  not  care  to  become  clergymen  or 
soldiers  often  became  adventurers. 

2  This  portrait  is  copied  from  one  in  John  Smith's  Generall  Historie  of  Vir 
ginia,  published  in  1624.    Accompanying  it  are  the  following  lines :  — 

These  are  the  Lines  that  shew  thy  Face ;  but  those 

That  Shew  thy  Grace  and  Glory,  brighter  bee ; 

Thy  Faire-Discoueries  and  Fowle-Overthrowes 

Of  Salvages,  much  civilliz'd  by  thee 

Best  shew  thy  Spirit ;  and  to  it  Glory  Wyn 

So,  thou  art  Brasse  without,  but  Golde  within. 


30  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Chief  Powhatan.1     Had  it  not  been  for  the  leadership  of  Smith, 
the  colony  would  have  perished. 

In  1609  Smith  was  injured  by  the  explosion  of  some  gun 
powder  and  was  obliged  to  return  to  England.  After  that  mat 
ters  went  from  bad  to  worse.  Of  the  number  who 
nac^  come  to  ^e  c°l°ny>  nearly  seven  hundred  in  all, 
only  sixty  were  alive  by  the  summer  of  1610  ;  the 
others  had  perished  from  fever  and  starvation,  or  had  been  killed 
by  the  Indians.  The  survivors,  ill  in  mind  and  body,  determined 
to  abandon  the  settlement.  They  took  ship,  and  were  on  their 
way  down  the  Chesapeake  Bay  when  they  met  Lord  Delaware 
with  three  vessels  laden  with  men  and  provisions.  The  starving 
time,  as  it  was  called,  was  at  an  end. 

The  Beginning  of  Prosperity.  —  Lord  Delaware  had  come  out  as 
governor  of  the  colony,  and  his  arrival  marked  the  real  beginning 
of  the  history  of  Virginia.  Under  the  leadership  of  Lord  Dela 
ware  and  his  deputy,  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  all  able-bodied  men  were  set 
to  work ; 2  the  idlers  had  the  choice  of  working  or  being  flogged  ;  a 
few  were  banished.  As  a  result,  in  a  very  few  years  the  colony  had 
a  population  of  four  thousand  people,  grouped  in  eleven  settlements. 
The  House  of  Burgesses.  1619.  —  In  1619  the  London  com 
pany  determined  to  make  the  colony  of  Virginia  self-governing. 
The  plan  was  put  into  operation  by  Sir  George  Yeardley,  the 
deputy  governor.  Yeardley  began  his  governorship  by  establish 
ing  a  general  assembly  that  should  give  the  colonists  the  right 
to  make  their  laws  and  to  govern  themselves.  In  1619  this  as 
sembly  met  at  Jamestown.  It  was  composed  of  twenty-two  mem 
bers,  two  elected  from  each  of  the  eleven  settlements,  and  was 
styled  the  House  of  Burgesses.  Since  there  was  no  capitol  build- 

1  The  story,  divested  of  its  romantic  elements,  is  probably  true.    According 
to  the  Indian  custom,  a  captive  under  sentence  might  be  reprieved  at  the  demand 
of  a  chief  or  any  prominent  member  of  the  tribe,  and  this  was  frequently  done. 
Pocahontas,  then  a  child,  always  had  a  deep  affection  for  Smith,  whom  she 
addressed  as  "father."    At  the  age  of  seventeen  she  married  an  Englishman 
named  Rolfe  and  was  received  in  England  as  a  princess  of  royal  blood.     She  died 
at  Gravesend,  England,  a  few  years  later.    Several  distinguished  families,  among 
them  that  of  John  Randolph,  are  descended  from  her. 

2  Dale  gave  each  laborer  the  privilege  of  cultivating  three  acres  of  land  for 
himself.    This  stimulated  industry  more  than  did  the  flogging. 


THE  SOUTHERN   COLONIES  31 

ing,  the  sessions  were  held  in  the  church.  The  governor  was  the 
presiding  officer.  The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  was  the  first 
legislative  assembly  of  white  men  in  America. 

Tobacco  Cultivation.  —  Yeardley  was  not  only  a  good  governor, 
but  he  was  also  an  excellent  business  man.  He  recognized  that 
the  success  of  the  colony  depended  upon  a  staple  export  crop ;  and 
his  business  training  led  him  to  determine  that  this  crop  would  be 
tobacco.  As  a  result  of  his  advice,  large  crops  of  tobacco  were 
planted,  and  the  venture  proved  successful  beyond  expectation. 

The  tobacco  plant  had  already  become  known  in  England,  and 
in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  King  James  to  prevent  its  use,1  tobacco 
had  become  very  popular.  The  growing  of  this  plant  was  a  great 
boon  to  the  colonists,  for  it  paid  large  profits  and,  in  time,  made 
Virginia  the  richest  of  the  colonies.  The  tobacco  itself  sold  so 
readily  that  for  many  years  prices  were  reckoned  in  pounds  of 
tobacco  instead  of  in  money. 

The  social  effects  of  this  industry  were  marked.  Not  all  land 
was  fit  for  tobacco  cultivation,  and  the  tobacco  planter  sought  the 
locality  that  would  produce  "the  best  crops.  This  had  the  effect 
of  scattering  the  population  instead  of  concentrating  it  in  towns 
and  villages.  Since  there  were  few  towns,  Virginia  came  to  be 
organized  by  counties. 

The  Redemptioners ;  Slavery.  —  The  labor  problem  was  a  difficult 
one,  and  various  methods  were  adopted  to  secure  servants  and 
workmen  for  the  plantations.  The  importation  of  convicts  from 
England  was  a  common  thing,  and  not  infrequently  organized 
bodies  in  the  larger  cities  of  England,  known  as  press  gangs,  would 
kidnap  young  men  and  put  them  aboard  outgoing  ships.  A  more 
common  way  of  securing  servants  was  to  induce  unemployed  men 
and  women,  by  the  payment  of  their  passage  money,  to  go  to  the 
colony.  On  their  arrival  they  were  bound  to  the  planters  for  a 
term  of  two  or  three  years,  or  until  their  passage  money  had  been 
earned.  Many  held  responsible  positions  of  trust,  and  there  was 
no  loss  of  social  standing  on  the  part  of  the  indentured 2  servants. 

1  The  cultivation  of  tobacco  in  England  is  forbidden  to  this  day. 

2  So  called  because  their  conditions  of  service  were  written  out  on  papers 
called  indentures. 


32  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Because  they  could  redeem  themselves  from  servitude,  they  were 
commonly  known  as  redemptioners. 

To  get  good  field  laborers  was  also  a  difficult  matter,  because 
few  white  laborers  could  endure  the  sultry  heat  of  the  fields. 
Late  in  the  summer  of  1619  a  Dutch  ship  called  at  Jamestown 
and  sold  into  slavery  twenty  negroes  brought  from  Africa.  Inas 
much  as  the  negroes  were  native  to  a  tropical  region,  they  were 
not  troubled  by  the  summer  heat.  The  venture  proved  satisfac 
tory.  For  a  few  years  not  many  slaves  were  imported,  but  in  the 
course  of  the  next  fifty  years  more  than  two  thousand  slaves, 
purchased  from  Arab  traders  on  the  Guinea  coast  of  Africa,  were 
brought  to  Virginia.  They  were  sold  at  values  varying  from  $25 
to  $125. 

Virginia  becomes  a  Royal  Colony.  1624.  —  By  this  time  the 
growing  spirit  of  independence  in  Virginia  began  to  alarm  the 
king,  and  he  endeavored  to  find  some  way  or  other  by  which  he 


BERKELEY'S  SIGNATURE  TO  A  DOCUMENT. 

could  annul  the  charter.  His  judges  decided  that  the  affairs  of 
the  colony  had  been  mismanaged ;  so  in  1624  the  charter  was 
annulled.  After  that  the  London  company  had  no  hand  in  the 
management  of  the  colony,  and  it  became  a  royal  province 
governed  by  the  king.1  From  this  time  to  the  Revolution  the 
governors  of  Virginia  were  appointed  by  the  king.  Notable  among 
them  was  Sir  William  Berkeley.  Berkeley  was  an  upright  man, 
but  he  had  little  sympathy  with  the  colony  and  its  industries. 

1  The  records  of  the  colony  fell  into  the  possession  of  the  king's  advisers  and 
were  destroyed.  Anticipating  this,  Nicholas  Ferrar,  the  London  company's 
treasurer,  made  a  copy  of  the  records,  and,  in  time,  they  were  obtained  by 
Thomas  Jefferson.  They  are  now  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  they  contain 
about  all  that  is  known  of  this  early  period  of  the  colony. 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES 


33 


His  chief  desire  was  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  king.  He 
did  not  abolish  the  House  of  Burgesses,  but  he  was  very  careful 
that  every  burgess  should  be  willing  to  do  his  bidding. 

The  Coming  of  the  Cavaliers.  —  In  the  meanwhile  a  civil  war  was 
brewing  in  England.  The  two  parties  in  the  war  were  the  Puri 
tans  and  the  Cavaliers.  The  former  were 
opposed  to  the  king  and  the  Church  of  Eng 
land  ;  the  latter  were  loyal  to  both.  In  the 
struggle  the  Cavaliers  were  defeated,  King 
Charles  I  was  beheaded,  and  Oliver  Cromwell 
made  himself  ruler  of  England.  The  war 
had  the  effect  of  driving  a  large  number  of 
Cavaliers  with  their  families  to  Virginia;  and 
inasmuch  as  these  included  some  of  the  best 
blood  of  England,  the  colony  was  a  great 
gainer.  Even  to  this  day  the  strain  of  Cava 
lier  blood  is  a  dominating  element  in  many 
parts  of  the  South. 

Navigation  Laws.  1660.  — While  Cromwell 
was  in  power,  Berkeley  was  displaced  as 
governor;  but  when  Charles  II  ascended  the 
throne,  Berkeley  was  again  appointed  royal  governor.  Almost 
immediately  there  began  a  series  of  troubles  which  in  the  course 
of  a  hundred  years  was  to  change  Virginia  from  a  most  loyal 
colony  to  one  that  was  decidedly  rebellious. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  colony  few  restrictions  were 
placed  upon  the  trade  of  the  Virginians,  .but  beginning  with  the 
time  of  Cromwell  enactments  known  as  the  navigation  laws  were 
made.  These  laws,  made  in  the  interests  of  London  merchants, 
forbade  the  colonists  selling  their  tobacco  anywhere  except  in 
England,  or  shipping  their  goods  in  any  but  English  vessels.1 
The  object  of  the  laws  was  to  prevent  the  competition  of  the 
Dutch,  who  were  then  becoming  very  active  in  the  tobacco  trade. 
The  navigation  laws  did  not  prevent  the  competition  of  the  Dutch, 
but  the  enforcement  of  them  hurt  the  colonists  most  seriously. 
The  planters  were  compelled  to  sell  their  tobacco  at  whatever  price 
1  These  navigation  laws  applied  to  all  the  colonies. 


A  CAVALIER. 


34 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN   NATION 


the  English  merchants  might  choose  to  fix,  and  the  tobacco- 
growing '  industry  well-nigh  failed.  Financially  the  Virginians 
were  almost  ruined. 

Bacon's  Rebellion.  1676.  —  An  Indian  outbreak  and  massacre 
brought  to  a  crisis  the  troubles  in  Virginia.  Governor  Berkeley 
promised  to  protect  the  settlers,  but  he  failed  to  keep  his  word. 
In  the  meantime,  the  massacres  at  outlying  settlements  continued. 

A  man  with  the  quality  of 
leadership  was  needed,  and  he 
came  to  the  front.  The  man 
was  Nathaniel  Bacon.  Bacon 
asked  for  an  officer's  commis 
sion  empowering  him  to  raise 
troops  with  which  to  fight  the 
Indians,  but  Governor  Berke 
ley  refused  to  give  it.  Dur 
ing  the  quarrel  over  this 
matter,  in  which  both  men 
did  various  things  which  were 
not  strictly  lawful,  Bacon 
managed  to  have  himself  elect 
ed  to  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
For  a  time  the  quarrel  was 
patched  up,  and  Berkeley  gave 
Bacon  a  commission  as  com 
mander  of  the  militia.  Bacon 
raised  a  force  of  about  one 
thousand  men  and  started  for 
the  scene  of  the  Indian  trou 
bles.  As  soon  as  he  was  fairly 
out  of  sight,  Governor  Berkeley  proclaimed  him  a  rebel  and 
collected  a  force  of  twelve  hundred  men,  who  were  ordered  to 
capture  him.  When  Bacon  learned  of  this,  he  started  back  with 
his  troops.  At  this  the  governor  was  deserted  by  his  force. 
Bacon  brought  his  company  back  to  Jamestown,  and  as  a  show 
of  resistance  was  made,  he  captured  and  burned  the  town. 
Very  shortly  after  this  Bacon  was  overcome  by  severe  illness 


From  the  painting  by  Kelly. 

BACON  DEMANDS  HIS  COMMISSION  FROM 
GOVERNOR  BERKELEY. 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES  35 

and  died.  Berkeley  quickly  returned  to  Jamestown,  seized  the 
government,  and  hanged  about  twenty  of  Bacon's  followers.  On 
account  of  his  conduct  he  was  recalled  to  England.1 

The  Progress  of  Virginia.  —  Virginia  remained  the  wealthiest  of 
the  American  colonies  up  to  the  time  of  the  War  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  That  her  progress  was  not  so  rapid  as  that  of  New  York  or 
Pennsylvania  was  due  in  part  to  the  absence  of  good  roads  and 
commercial  centers  ;  it  was  also  due  to  the  conservative  character 
of  the  people,  who,  being  very  prosperous,  were  content  to  let 
well  enough  alone.  Governor  Berkeley,  in  his  time,  wrote,  "  I 
thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools  and  no  printing;"  but  after 
this  period  a  broad  and  liberal  spirit  was  manifested  toward 
educational  affairs.  Through  the  energy  of  James  Blair,  William 
and  Mary  College  was  established  in  1693  at  a  place  to  which  the 
name  of  Williamsburg  was  given. 

MARYLAND 

The  Maryland  Charter.  1632.  — The  early  history  of  Maryland 
is  closely  connected  with  that  of  Virginia,  because  the  colony  was 
established  on  a  part  of  the  original  Virginia  territory.  George 
Calvert,  better  known  as  Lord  Baltimore,  was  a  warm  friend  of 
Charles  I,  who  used  his  royal  power  to  cut  a  large  slice  out  of 
Virginia  for  a  land  grant  to  Lord  Baltimore.  The  territory  was 
named  Maryland  in  honor  of  Queen  Henrietta  Maria.  Calvert 
had  previously  attempted  to  establish  a  settlement  in  New 
foundland,  but  it  was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  severe  climate. 
The  Maryland  charter  to  Lord  Baltimore  gave  him  considerable 
authority.  He  could  grant  titles  of  nobility,  establish  courts,  and 
pardon  criminals ;  he  could  make  the  laws  with  the  assent  of  the 
freeholders,  although  he  could  not  levy  taxes  without  their  con 
sent  ;  in  fact,  the  form  of  government  was  in  theory  as  much  a 
monarchy  as  England  herself.2  Lord  Baltimore  died  before  the 

1  Charles  II  said  of  him,  "  That  old  fool  has  put  to  death  in  that  naked  country 
more  people  than  I  did  here  for  the  death  of  my  father."     Only  six  of  the  fifty- 
nine  judges  who  sentenced  Charles  I  suffered  the  death  penalty. 

2  It  was  a  form   of  government  closely  resembling  the  "palatinates"  of 
Germany. 


36 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


plans  for  the  colony  were  completed,  but  the  same  privileges  were 
immediately  conferred  on  his  son,  Cecil  Calvert,  who  became  the 
second  Lord  Baltimore.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  colony  that 
both  father  and  son  were  men  of  broad  and  lofty  character. 

Establishing  the  Colony.     1634-1649.  —  The  Cal  verts  were  Catho 
lics,  and  they  wished  to  establish  the  colony  especially  for  Catho- 


MEDAL  OF  CECIL  CALVERT,  SECOND  LORD  BALTIMORE,  AND  HIS  WIFE. 

This  shows  the  two  sides  of  a  very  rare  silver  medal  given  Lord  Baltimore  by 
Charles  I,  in  the  year  of  the  Maryland  grant. 

lies,  who  were  then  bitterly  persecuted  in  England.1  But  inasmuch 
as  England  was  under  a  Protestant  sovereign  at  that  time,  it  was 
deemed  wise  to  establish  a  colony  in  which  all  Christian  denomi 
nations  should  have  religious  freedom.  The  "  Toleration  Act,'7 
passed  in  1649,  guaranteed  this  freedom. 

The  first  settlement  in  the  Maryland  colony  was  made  in  1634, 
at  the  site  of  an  Indian  village  overlooking  a  beautiful  estuary.2 
Both  the  settlement  and  the  river  were  named  St.  Marys.  About 

1  At  that  time  a  Catholic  in  England  was  not  permitted  to  educate  his  children 
in  a  foreign  country  ;  he  was  forbidden  to  employ  a  Catholic  teacher  in  his 
family  ;  he  was  not  allowed  to  have  books  that  in  any  way  set  forth  the  Catholic 
faith.     He  was  required  to  attend  the  services  of  the  Church  of  England  under 
penalty  of  a  fine  of  twenty  pounds  per  month.    Lest  he  might  become  a  danger 
ous  rebel,  he  could  not  own  a  weapon  of  any  kind,  nor  could  he  sit  in  the  Parlia 
ment,  where  he  might  utter  his  views  freely. 

2  From  the  Indians  the  preparation  of  two  articles  of  food  was  learned,  and 
these  in  time  became  dishes  of  national  reputation,  namely,  corn-pone  and 
hominy. 


THE  SOUTHERN   COLONIES 


37 


fifteen  years  later  (1649)  a  Puritan  settlement  was  made  at  the 
present  site  of  Annapolis.  In  both  settlements  tobacco  growing 
quickly  became  the  chief  industry,  and  commerce  in  tobacco  was 
the  financial  foundation  of  the  colony.  An  assembly  to  which 
the  colonists  sent  representatives  was  established  in  1638.  There 
was  the  usual  amount  of  friction  in  the  administration  of  the 
colony's  affairs,  but,  owing  to  the  wisdom  and  fairness  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  there  was  practically  no  trouble  with  the  Indians. 

Trouble  with  Virginia.  —  The  Virginians  were  not  willing  to 
see  a  slice  cut  out  of  their  territory  and  given  to  their  competi 
tors.  The  ill  feeling  was  intensified  when,  in  1635, 
William  Claiborne  of  Virginia,  a  fur  trader,  was 
ordered  off  Kent  Island  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  where 
his  trading  post  had  been  established.  Claiborne  refused  to 
recognize  the  authority  of  Lord  Baltimore,  and  tried  to  hold  the 
island  by  force  of  arms.  A  clash  between  the  authorities  of  the 
two  colonies  resulted,  and  Claiborne  was  put  off  the  island.  For 
several  years  afterward,  however,  he  was  busy  fomenting  trouble. 

The  Overthrow  of  the  Catholics.  — After  the  beheading  of  Charles 
I,  the  political  revolution  which  placed  the  Puritans  in  power  in 
England  extended  to  Maryland.  Commissioners  sent  by  Crorn- 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OF  MARYLAND. 
In  use  from  1658  to  1776. 

well  demanded  that  the  people  should  swear  loyalty  to  the  new 
Commonwealth ;  Lord  Baltimore  insisted  that  they  should  give 
their  allegiance  to  him.  Governor  Stone,  a  most  able  officer  and 
a  Protestant,  agreed  to  acknowledge  loyalty  to  the  Commonwealth 


38  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

of  England,  but  refused  to  forswear  his  allegiance  to  Lord  Balti 
more.  In  consequence  he  was  forced  out  of  office. 

The  commissioners  then  ordered  the  election  of  a  general 
assembly  (1654).  They  also  directed  that  no  Catholic  should  be 
elected  to  it.  The  assembly  at  its  meeting  declared  that  Lord 
Baltimore  no  longer  had  any  proprietary  rights  in  the  colony, 
repealed  the  Toleration  Act,  and  forbade  Catholics  to  worship 
in  the  colony.  This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  several  years. 
In  1658,  however,  a  new  Parliament  restored  to  Lord  Baltimore 
his  rights  in  the  colony.  When  William  and  Mary  came  to  the 
throne  of  England,  in  1689,  Maryland  was  made  a  royal  province 
under  the  pretense  that  the  Catholics  were  conspiring  with  the 
Indians  to  massacre  all  Puritans.  In  1715  the  colony  was 
restored  to  the  third  Lord  Baltimore,  who  was  a  Protestant,  at 
the  almost  unanimous  desire  of  the  people  in  the  colony,  without 
respect  to  creed.  The  colony  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Balti 
more  family  until  the  Revolution. 

Mason  and  Dixon's  Line.  —  At  times  bloody  disputes  occurred 
over  the  boundary  line  between  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania. 
Finally  (1760)  two  English  surveyors,  Charles  Mason  and  Jere 
miah  Dixon,  were  employed  to  locate  the  line.  Stone  posts  were 
placed  along  the  line  at  intervals  of  one  mile,  every  fifth  column 
being  marked  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  proprietors.  The 
latitude  of  the  boundary  thus  located  is  39°  43'  26.3".  It  be 
came  known  as  "  Mason  and  Dixon's  line." 

THE   CAROLINAS  — NORTH  AND   SOUTH 

Early  Settlements.  1653-1670.  — Ne.arly  a  century  after  Ribault's 
attempt  to  found  a  colony  where  Port  Royal  now  is,1  some  Vir 
ginians  (1653)  settled  on  Chowan  River,  near  Albemarle  Sound. 
Ten  years  later  settlements  were  made  by  English  planters  from 
Barbadoes,  forming  the  Carteret  colony  on  Cape  Fear  River. 

At  this  time  Charles  II  granted  the  region  between  the  parallels 
The  Carolina  of  30°  and  36°  30'  to  an  English  company.  The  coast 
grant  frontage  of  the  grant  embraced  practically  the  present 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES 


39 


Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  a  part  of  Florida.  In  recognition  of 
this  gift  from  the  king,  the  name  Carolina1  was  given  to  the 
territory.  Within  a  few  years  the  peninsula  between  Ashley 
and  Cooper  rivers  was  settled,  and  at  its  point  Charles's  Town, 
or  Charleston,  was  built  (1670).  lleligious  liberty  was  guaran- 


/  ^hiladelphia 

{MA^_D,XOVS  UNL  ^  \    _.^ 

~ 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES. 

teed  to  all  settlers,  and  many  Huguenots  went  there.  Most 
of  them  were  wealthy  and  educated,  and  they  made  the  best  of 
citizens.2 

1  Carolus  is  the  Latin  form  for  Charles. 

2  Among  their  descendants  were  Henry  Laurens,  who  signed  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  General  Marion,  a  famous 
soldier  of  the  Revolution. 


40  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Grand  Model.  1669.  —  Lord  Shaf  tsbury  and  the  philosopher 
John  Locke  drew  up  a  scheme  for  the  government  of  the  colony, 
which  was  proclaimed  the  "Grand  Model"  and  asserted  to  be 
"the  most  perfect  plan  ever  designed.'7  Unfortunately,  the 
scheme  did  not  give  any  rights  of  citizenship  to  the  men  who 
had  built  up  the  colony ;  they  had  the  right  neither  to  vote  nor 
to  own  the  land  which  they  had  made  productive.  In  a  very 
short  time  the  Grand  Model  proved  to  be  a  grand  farce,  and  was 
unceremoniously  dropped  out  of  sight. 

The  Division  into  Two  Colonies.  —  The  northern  and  southern 
settlements  were  remote  from  each  other  and  therefore  had  but 
little  intercommunication.  They  were  under  separate  governors 
most  of  the  time,  though  forming  a  single  colony.  In  1712  the 
colony  was  divided  formally  into  North  Carolina  and  South  Caro 
lina.  In  1729  the  proprietors  sold  their  rights  to  the  king,  and 
each  colony  became  a  royal  province. 

Some  Unique  Industries.  —  In  North  Carolina  the  manufacture 
of  naval  stores  —  that  is,  tar  and  pitch  —  for  a  time  was  the  chief 
industry.  The  enterprise  was  made  possible  by  the  abundant 
growth  of  the  pitch  pine  there.  The  materials  were  in  demand 
by  shipbuilders,  and  North  Carolina  furnished  the  world's  chief 
supply.  It  was  discovered  that  the  coast  lowlands  of  South 
Carolina  would  produce  an  excellent  quality  of  rice,  and  rice 
growing  became  the  most  important  industry  of  that  colony. 
Through  the  efforts  of  the  daughter  of  Governor  Lucas,  the  culti 
vation  of  the  indigo  plant  was  undertaken,  and  for  many  years 
South  Carolina  had  a  rich  income  from  the  sales  of  this  substance. 

The  Tendency  to  Self -Government.  —  The  enforcement  of  the 
navigation  laws l  crippled  the  Carolinas  quite  as  much  as  it  did 
Virginia.  As  in  the  other  colonies,  too,  the  people  grew  into  the 
habit  of  resisting  any  interference  with  self-government ;  they 
knew  better  than  the  mother  country  what  sort  of  government 
was  best  adapted  to  their  needs.  At  one  time  (1678)  John  Cul- 
peper,  at  the  head  of  a  force  of  men,  deposed  the  officers  of 
the  Albemarle  settlement  and  organized  a  new  government.  He 
was  tried  for  treason  and  acquitted. 

i  See  page  33. 


THE  SOUTHERN   COLONIES 


41 


GEORGIA 

The  Objects  in  Founding  the  Colony.  —  Georgia,  the  last  to  be  es 
tablished  of  the  colonies  that  became  a  part  of  the  United  States, 
was  not  organized  until  1732,  about  a  century  and  a 
quarter  after  Virginia  had  been  settled.     The  founder    Ogiethorpe 
of  the  colony  was  General  James  Ogiethorpe,  a  far- 
sighted  and  benevolent  Englishman.     One  of  Oglethorpe's  objects 
was  to  establish  a  "buffer'7  territory  between  the  English  and 
Spanish  frontiers.     At  that  time  this  step  had  become  necessary 
from  the  fact  that  several  col 
lisions    had   occurred    between 
the   English   and   the  Spanish 
colonies.       Such     a     territory, 
therefore,  would  make  an  excel 
lent  base  for  military  defense. 

The  other  object  was  philan- 
thropiCo  At  that  time  imprison 
ment  was  a  lawful  punishment 
for  debt  in  England.  A  man 
owing  so  small  a  sum  as  a  shil 
ling  might  be  cast  into  prison 
and  kept  there  until  his  friends 
paid  the  debt ;  and  many  a  poor 
wretch  spent  the  greater  part 
of  his  years  behind  the  bars  of 
a  debtor's  prison.  Moreover,  by  < 
a  system  of  fees  and  charges,  a 
debt  of  a  few  shillings  quickly  grew  to  one  of  many  pounds ;  and 
death  by  starvation  was  no  uncommon  end  of  an  unfortunate  whose 
only  crime  was  a  debt  that  he  could  not  discharge.  Ogiethorpe 
planned  to  settle  the  debts  of  deserving  people,  send  them  to  his 
new  colony,  and  after  putting  them  on  their  feet,  give  them  an 
opportunity  to  live  comfortably,  as  they  could  not  in  England. 

Establishing  the  Colony.  1733.  —  The  charter  for  a  colony 
between  the  Savannah  and  the  Altamaha  rivers  was  granted  by 
King  George  II  in  1732  to  Ogiethorpe  and  his  associates,  who 


42  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

were  made  trustees  of  the  colony.  Emigrants  sent  out  with 
Oglethorpe  founded  Savannah  in  1733.  Other  settlements  were 
made  soon  by  the  Scotch-Irish  and  Moravians,  a  sect  of  German 
Protestants,  who  came  in  considerable  numbers. 

After  twenty  years  the  trustees  gave  up  their  charter,  and 
Georgia  became  a  royal  province  (1752)  under  the  direct  control 
of  the  king. 

Trade  and  Political  Restrictions.  —  For  some  years  the  progress 
of  the  colony  was  retarded  by  restrictions,  some  of  which  were 
unwise.  During  the  first  twenty-one  years  the  right  to  make 
the  laws  of  the  colony  was  vested  in  an  association  of  trustees 
in  whose  appointment  the  people  had  no  voice.  The  people 
did  not  have  any  part  in  the  government,  and  therefore  had  no 
training  in  citizenship.  Another  article  in  the  law  prohibited 
women  and  Catholics  from  holding  or  owning  land.  Still 
another  forbade  slavery,  and  this  restriction  crippled  the  agri 
culture  and  the  commerce  of  the  colony  to  such  an  extent  that 
competition  with  other  colonies  in  tobacco  growing  was  out  of 
the  question.1  The  importation  of  liquor  was  also  forbidden ; 
this  restriction  prevented  the  sale  of  Georgia  pine  in  the  West 
Indies,  owing  to  the  fact  that  rum  was  the  chief  article  offered 
by  the  islands  in  exchange  for  importations.  One  benefit  arising 
from  the  trade  restrictions,  however,  was  the  introduction  of 
silk  culture,  which  for  a  time  was  an  important  industry.  These 
restrictions  were  removed,  for  the  greater  part,  in  1755. 

Border  Warfare  with  the  Spaniards.  1742.  —  The  establishment 
of  the  Georgia  colony  proved  to  be  a  most  wise  measure.  In 
1742  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine  determined  to  drive  the 
English  out  of  Georgia.  They  landed  three  thousand  men  and 
began  the  task  of  invasion.  General  Oglethorpe  retreated  from 
the  coast,  and  when  the  Spanish  force  was  drawn  into  a  position 
suitable  for  attack,  he  let  loose  his  Scotch-Irish  militia.  In 
about  an  hour  all  the  fight  was  thrashed  out  of  the  Spaniards. 

1  It  was  largely  through  the  efforts  of  George  Whitefield,  the  celebrated 
preacher,  that  slavery  was  finally  permitted  in  the  colony.  John  and  Charles 
Wesley,  the  founders  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  were  members  of  the 
colony. 


THE  SOUTHERN   COLONIES  43 

Those  not  killed  or  captured  got  back  to  their  ships  and  sailed 
for  St.  Augustine.  A  few  years  later  the  present  southern 
boundary  of  Georgia  was  fixed. 


SUMMARY 

Between  1585  and  1590  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  made  two  unsuccessful 
efforts  to  establish  a  colony  on  Roanoke  Island. 

The  discovery  of  the  "  short  route  "  to  America  by  Bartholomew  Gos- 
nold  encouraged  exploration,  and  the  Plymouth  and  London  companies 
were  formed. 

Virginia  was  settled  by  the  London  company  at  Jamestown  in 
1607. 

In  the  early  days  John  Smith  saved  the  colony  from  destruction. 
With  tobacco  growing  came  prosperity,  followed  by  the  coming  of 
many  Englishmen  and  the  introduction  of  slavery. 

The  House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia,  established  in  1619,  was  the  first 
elective  legislative  assembly  in  America. 

The  charter  was  annulled  in  1624,  and  the  colony  was  made  a  royal 
province,  directly  dependent  on  the  Crown. 

Maryland,  designed  as  a  colony  for  persecuted  Catholics,  was  founded 
by  Lord  Baltimore  as  proprietor  in  1634. 

All  Christian  denominations  enjoyed  religious  toleration. 

Under  the  rule  of  Oliver  Cromwell  in  England,  the  Puritans  in  Mary 
land  came  into  power.  They  not  only  denied  the  title  of  Lord  Balti 
more  to  the  colony,  but  forbade  to  the  Catholics  the  exercise  of  political 
rights.  After  a  few  years  his  rights  were  restored  to  Lord  Baltimore. 

For  twenty-six  years  Maryland  was  a  royal  province,  but  in  1715  it 
was  given  again  to  the  third  Lord  Baltimore. 

Tobacco  planting  was  the  chief  industry  of  the  colony. 

In  order  to  establish  a  boundary  between  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania, 
the  Mason  and  Dixon  line  was  surveyed. 

The  Carolinas  were  settled  by  Virginians  at  Chowan  River,  and  by 
Barbadoes  planters  on  Cape  Fear  River.  These  settlements  grew  into 
the  colony  of  North  Carolina. 

A  settlement  was  made  at  Charleston,  where  many  French  Huguenots 
came.  This  came  to  be  South  Carolina. 

The  manufacture  of  naval  stores  was  the  chief  industry  in  North  Caro 


44          r//#  MAKING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Una,  ;   the  cultivation  of  rice  and  indigo  was  the  chief  employment  in 
South  Carolina. 

For  much  of  the  time  the  two  Carolinas  were  under  separate  govern 
ors,  although  they  were  one  colony.  They  were  made  distinct  royal 
provinces  in  1729. 

Georgia  was  founded  by  James  Oglethorpe  as  a  colony  for  men  res 
cued  from  English  debtors'  prisons.  It  was  also  regarded  as  a  "  buffer  " 
frontier  against  the  Spaniards. 

Savannah  was  settled  in  1733. 

Political  and  trade  restrictions  retarded  the  growth  of  the  colony. 

The  Spaniards  attempted  an  invasion,  but  were  defeated  by  General 
Oglethorpe. 

COLLATEKAL  READING 

Old  Virginia  and  Tier  Neighbors  —  Fiske.  Read  the  following  topics: 
Drake's  voyage,  Vol.  I,  25  ;  Captain  John  Smith,  VoL  I,  80  ;  starving 
time,  Vol.  I,  119  ;  the  Kingdom  of  Virginia,  Vol.  I,  223  ;  piracy,  Vol.  II, 
338;  tobacco  culture  in  the  Southern  colonies,  Vol.  II5  174;  Maryland 
after  the  death  of  Cromwell,  Vol.  II,  131  ;  the  northern  boundary,  Vol. 
II,  145  ;  Locke's  perfect  plan,  Vol.  II,  272  ;  the  beginning  of  Georgia, 
Vol.  II,  335. 

These  topics  may  be  read  also  in  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United 
States. 

Stories  of  Pennsylvania  —  Brumbaugh  and  Walton. 

For  biographical  sketches  read  Chandler's  Makers  of  Virginia  History, 
and  ChappelPs  Georgia  History  Stories. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  DUTCH  AND   QUAKER  COLONIES 
NEW  YORK 

Verrazano  visits  New  York  Bay.  1524.  —  Among  the  people 
interested  in  the  trade  with  India  in  the  early  years  of  the  six 
teenth  century  were  certain  merchants  of  Dieppe,  in  France.  At 
that  time  the  belief  was  general  that  the  newly  found  continent 
was  a  very  narrow  body  of  land.  Balboa  had  crossed  it  at  the 


*g^g* 


THE  MAIOLLO  MAP,  1527. 

Copied  from  a  chart  made  by  Verrazano's  brother,  showing  the  isthmus  supposed 
to  separate  the  Atlantic  and  Indian  oceans. 

Isthmus  of  Panama,  where  it  is  less  than  thirty  miles  wide,  and 
Magellan  had  sailed  through  the  short  strait  that  now  bears  his 
name.  Hence  there  were  pretty  good  reasons  'for  such  a  belief. 
Full  of  the  idea  that  a  passage-way  through  the  new  land  must 

45 


46  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

exist,  a  company  of  these  merchants  of  Dieppe  employed  Giovanni 
da  Verrazano  to  search  the  coast  for  such  a  passage. 

In  January,  1524,  Verrazano  reached  the  coast  of  North  Caro 
lina,  which  he  described  as  "a  new  land,  never  before  seen  by 
men."  Keeping  along  the  coast  to  the  northeast  he 
the  Pacific  entered  nearly  every  bay  or  estuary  which  he  sighted, 
hoping  that  it  might  be  a  strait  leading  to  the  Pacific. 
That  he  thought  he  had  seen  the  Pacific  Ocean  seems  probable 
from  a  map  made  by  his  brother.  On  this  map  North  America 
is  shaped  much  like  an  hourglass,  being  about  ten  miles  wide 
at  a  point  which  may  be  either  the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia 
or  the  spit  that  incloses  Pamlico  Sound  (North  Carolina). 

It  is  fairly  certain  that  Verrazano  visited  New  York  Bay. 
His  description  fits  this  bay  so  accurately  as  to  leave  little  room 
for  doubt ;  moreover,  French  fur  traders  were  very  shortly  after 
ward  doing  a  lucrative  business  there  with  the  Indians.  They 
built  a  stockade  and  trading  post  on  an  island  in  the  Hudson  not 
far  from  the  place  where  Albany  now  stands.  No  permanent 
settlement,  however,  was  made  in  the  region  for  nearly  a 
century,  nor  did  the  French  make  an  effort  to  establish  any 
claim  to  the  land. 

Henry  Hudson  explores  New  York  Bay.  1609.  —  Early  in  the 
seventeenth  century  there  was  a  well-to-do  family  in  London  who, 
as  merchants  and  traders,  held  a  high  position  in  commercial 
circles.  One  member  of  this  family,  Henry  Hudson,  had  been 
employed  by  an  English  trading  company  to  seek  a  short  route  to 
India  by  way  of  the  north  polar  regions.  Hudson  did  not  find 
the  passage  he  sought,  but  he  nevertheless  made  himself  famous 
as  a  sailor  and  active  explorer.  In  the  service  of  a  Dutch  corn- 
Search  for  a  Pan7  in  April,  1609,  he  sailed  out  of  the  Zuyder  Zee 
northern  in  the  Half  Moon,  a  vessel  about  the  size  of  a  pleasure 
passage  yacht,  in  search  of  a  northeast  route  to  India.  After 
finding  his  way  blocked  by  the  ice  that  had  gathered  about  the 
island  of  Nova  Zembla,  he  decided  to  turn  back. 

Hudson  had  in  his  possession  two  things  which  influenced  torn 
to  disobey  the  order  to  return  home  in  case  he  was  obstructed  by 
ice.  One  was  the  map  of  Verrazano,  showing  the  narrow  waist 


THE  DUTCH  AND  QUAKER   COLONIES  47 

of  land  with  Verrazano  Sea  (the  Pacific  Ocean)  beyond  it;  the 
other  was  a  letter  from  Captain  John  Smith  telling  him  that, 
although  there  was  no  pas 
sage  through  to  the  Pacific 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  there  might 
be  one  farther  north.  Within 
a  few  weeks  from  the  time 
that  Hudson  turned  away 
from  the  polar  regions,  the 
Half  Moon  entered  Delaware 
Bay.  Finding  no  prospect 
of  a  passage  there,  Hudson 
sailed  northward  into  New 
York  Bay.  He  spent  about 
the  whole  of  September  ex 
ploring  the  bay  and  the  river 
that  flows  into  it,  ascend 
ing  the  river  as  far  as  the  HENRY  HUDSON. 
present  site  of  Albany.  Not  finding  any  passage  to  the  ocean, 
he  returned  to  New  York  Bay.1 

The  Dutch  occupy  New  Netherland.     1613. — The  merchants  of 
Amsterdam  quickly  saw  the  great  possibilities  of  New  York  Bay. 
The  harbor  was  not  surpassed  by  any  in  Europe ;  the     The 
country  around  was  peopled  with  Indians.     The  har-     West  India 
bor  was  most  advantageous  for  a  trading  post,  and  the     Company 
Indians  could  procure  an  abundance  of  pelts  and  furs.     So  a  cor- 
poratiqn,  the  West  India  Company,  was  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  developing  trade,  and  a  trading  post  was  established  on  Man 
hattan  Island.2 

1  On  his  return  to  Europe  he  was  ordered  to  England  and  put  in  charge  of 
another  arctic  expedition  under  the  English  flag.     While  in  arctic  waters,  his 
crew  became  mutinous  and  set  Hudson,  his  young  son,  and  seven  sailors  in  a  boat, 
out  in  the  open  sea.     They  were  never  heard  of  afterward. 

2  About  the  same  time  a  master  mariner  and  trader,  Hendrick  Christianson, 
rebuilt  an  old  trading  post,  Fort  Nassau,  on  an  island  in  the  Hudson  River,  not 
far  from  the  site  of  Albany.     It  had  been  occupied  formerly  by  French  traders, 
but  at  that  time  (1614)  had   been  abandoned.     On  account  of  floods  the  post 


48 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


As  early  as  1613  a  "strong  house,"  or  fort,  of  considerable  pre 
tensions  and  a  number  of  houses  were  in  existence,  some  of  the 
latter  being  constructed  of  brick  brought  from  Holland.  The 
settlement  was  called  New  Amsterdam,  and  New  Netherland  was 
the  name  given  to  the  country  around  Manhattan  Island.  The 
colony,  composed  mainly  of  traders,  did  not  increase  very 
rapidly ;  nevertheless  in  1634  there  were  settlements  on  Man 
hattan  Island,  on  Long  Island,  at  Breucklen  (Brooklyn),  and  on 
the  peninsula  between  New  York  and  Newark  bays.1 


DUTCHMEN  TRADING  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 

Manhattan  Island  was  purchased  of  the  Indians  (1626)  by 
the  first  resident  governor,  Peter  Minuit,  for  sixty  guilders,  a 
Purchase  of  sum  about  equal  to  twenty -four  dollars.  The  payment 
Manhattan  was  made  in  commodities  needed  by  the  Indians. 
Perhaps  the  transaction  might  not  stand  a  very  strict 
examination,  yet  on  the  whole  the  West  India  Company  was 

was  afterward  moved  to  the  mainland  and  named  Fort  Orange.    This  fort  was 
the  beginning  of  Albany. 

1  This  strip  of  land  was  named  Pavonia,  a  Latinized  form  of  the  patroon's 
name,  one  De  Pauw.  The  name  Bayonne,  now  applied  to  the  town  embracing  the 
peninsula,  is  evidently  a  modern  derivation. 


THE  DUTCH  AND   QUAKER   COLONIES  49 

accustomed  to  deal  fairly  with  the  Indians,  because  the  success  of 
the  fur  trade  depended  on  friendly  relations  with  them. 

The  Patroons.  —  In  order  to  encourage  permanent  settlement  in 
New  Netherland,  the  West  India  Company  in  1629  offered  a 
large  tract  of  land  to  each  of  its  members  who  should  bring  to  the 
colony  fifty  able-bodied  settlers.  This  grant  constituted  a  manor, 
and  the  member  to  whom  the  grant  was  made  was  styled  a 
patroon.  The  patroon  was  required  to  pay  the  emigrant's 
passage  money  and  to  furnish  him  house,  stock,  and  farming 
utensils.1  It  was  customary  also  to  provide  a  clergyman  and  a 
school  teacher.  The  tenant,  for  his  part,  was  required  to  pay  a 
nominal  rental,  but  this  was  not  always  exacted.  He  was 
required  also  to  give  the  patroon  the  first  chance  to  buy  his 
crops.  He  was  not  permitted  to  engage  in  the  manufacture 
of  anything  that  was  made  in  Holland,  nor  could  he  traffic  in 
furs  and  pelts. 

The  patroon  who  located  his  estates  on  one  side  of  a  navigable 
river  could  have  sixteen  miles  of  water  front ;  if  he  located  on 
both  sides,  he  had  eight  miles  on  the  river.  The  West  India 
Company's  grant,  or  patent,  did  not  give  the  patroon  a  full  title 
to  the  lands ;  the  latter  must  be  purchased  of  the  Indians,  and 
this,  as  a  rule,  was  scrupulously  done.  On  his  manor  the  patroon 
had  absolute  authority,  being  lawmaker,  ruler,  and  judge.  Even 
at  the  present  time  some  of  the  old  manor  buildings  still  exist, 
and  the  patroon  names  are  common  along  the  Hudson. 

Dutch  Governors.  1626-1664.  —  The  affairs  of  the  West  India 
Company  were  at  no  time  very  prosperous,  although  the  traders 
and  patroons  got  along  very  well.  Minuit's  successor,  Governor 
Wouter  Van  Twiller,  lacked  administrative  ability,  and  the  wasp 
ish  temper  of  Governor  Kieft  plunged  the  colony  into  troubles 
with  the  Indians  which  resulted  in  a  terrible  Indian  war.2 

1  In  some  instances  African  slaves  were  also  furnished.    These  were  owned  by 
the  patroon,  but  were  fed  and  lodged  by  the  tenant. 

2  The  Indians  about  New  Amsterdam  were  Delawares,  who  belonged  to  the 
Algonquian   family  ;  those  about  the  Mohawk  Valley  were  Iroquoians  and  the 
mortal  enemies  of  the  Delawares.     Kieft  forbade  the  Delawares  to  possess  fire 
arms,  while  he  supplied  them  to  the  Mohawks,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  fur  and 
pelt  trade.    See  page  88  for  an  account  of  this  war. 


50  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  last  and  most  capable  governor  during 
the   period  of  Dutch  occupation,   put   the   company's  affairs  in 
good   shape.     He  permitted  the  election  of  an  advi- 
SOIT  council   to  look   after   some   of    the    details  of 


government,  and  induced  the  company  to  make  more 
liberal  provisions  for  education.  He  was  an  honest  and  efficient 
ruler,  although  decidedly  arbitrary  and  tyrannical.  He  brooked 
no  interference  with  his  administration,  and  the  settlement  was 
probably  the  better  for  it. 

Conflict  over  English  Claims.  —  New  Netherland  was  situated 
in  the  neutral  zone  between  the  grants  of  the  London  company 
and  the  Plymouth  company.1  The  English  therefore  regarded 
the  presence  of  the  Dutch  in  Manhattan  and  the  Hudson  Valley 
as  an  intrusion.  There  were  English  settlers  in  considerable 
numbers  on  Long  Island  and  in  the  western  part  of  what  is  now 
Connecticut.  They  had  settled,  moreover,  upon  lands  claimed 
by  the  West  India  Company,  under  the  charter  of  New  Nether- 
land.  Governor  Stuyvesant  wisely  refrained  from  ^disturbing 
them,  however,  fearing  that  it  would  bring  about  a  conflict-with 
England.2 

English  settlers  kept  encroaching  on  the  lands  of  the  West 
India  Company  and  finally  (1655)  one  Thomas  Pell  leisurely  sur 

veyed  a  large  tract  within  a  dozen  miles  of  Governor 

The  case  of  gtuy  vesant's  farm,  and  proceeded  to  move  his  goods 
Colonel  Pell  J  .  & 

and  chattels  upon  it.      Stuyvesant  ordered  him  off, 

but  Pell  paid  no  attention  to  the  order,  probably  because  he 
had  been  promised  protection  by  Governor  Winthrop  of  Connecti 
cut.  The  affair  caused  no  little  friction  between  the  colonies, 
and,  with  other  matters,  was  laid  before  the  home  governments. 

The  Fall  of  New  Netherland.  1664.  —  By  this  time  the  English 
had  begun  to  realize  the  fact  that  New  York  Bay  was  not  only 

1  See  page  28. 

2  In  1650  Stuyvesant  renounced  the  Dutch  claims  to  the  eastern  part  of  Long 
Island  and  Connecticut,  and,  by  a  treaty  signed  at  Hartford,  it  was  agreed  that  a 
line  north  from  Greenwich  Bay  (at  the  present  western  boundary  of  Connecticut) 
should  separate  the  two  colonies  on  the  mainland,  while  one  drawn  south  from 
Oyster  Bay  should  be  the  boundary  on  Long  Island.     The  charter  of  Massachu 
setts  ga.  ve  that  colony  sovereignty  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 


THE  DUTCH  AND   QUAKER   COLONIES 


51 


the  commercial  key  to  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America,  but 
the  most  strategic  point  as  well.  England  was  at  peace  with 
Holland  at  this  time.  Nevertheless,  King  Charles  II  secretly 
gave  the  whole  region  about  New  York  Bay,  including  Connecti 
cut,  to  his  brother  the  Duke  of  York,  who  then  dispatched  four 
vessels  with  five  hundred  men  to  seize  New  Amsterdam. 

When  Colonel  Richard  Nichols  with  this  squadron  reached  New 
Amsterdam  in  1664, 
to  his  surprise  he 
found  but  little  op 
position.  Governor 
Stuyvesant  stormed 
about  and  swore  he 
would  not  surrender, 
but  he  finally  sub 
mitted  to  the  inevi 
table.  The  Dutch 
flag  was  hauled 
down  and  the  Eng 
lish  standard  was 
raised.  New  Nether- 
land  thereby  became, 
an  English  province, 
and  New  Amster 
dam  was  christened 
New  York.  In  1673, 

during    a    war    be-  -»-^ 

tween  England  and 
Holland,  New  York 
was  recaptured,  but 
it  was  given  back  to 
the  English  in  less 
than  a  year,  in  ex 
change  for  Surinam  (Dutch  Guiana)  and  an  island  of  the  Banda 
group,  near  the  Moluccas. 

The  fall  of  New  Netherland  could  be  regarded  as  a  foregone 
conclusion  from  the  first.     Even  were  there  no  internal  causes, 


From  the  painting  by  Powell. 

STUYVESANT  DESTROYS  THE  DEMAND  FOB 
SURRENDER. 


52  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

the  geographical  position  of  the  colony  was  such  that  it  must 
either  absorb  the  two  English  colonies  that  surrounded  it,  or 
The  rule  else  ^  absorbe(1  b^  them.  But  the  rule  of  the  West 
of  the  India  Company  was  of  a  military  nature  and  it  con- 

WesUndia  stantly  irritated  the  people.  In  the  main,  the  settlers 
were  certainly  prosperous,  but  they  were  not  nearly  so 
well  off  as  their  English  neighbors  all  around  them.  The  latter 
paid  no  taxes  except  the  small  sums  which  they  assessed  upon 
themselves  ;  the  Dutch,  on  the  other  hand,  were  heavily  taxed. 
The  English  elected  the  officers  to  administer  the  laws  they 
themselves  made  ;  the  Dutch  had  no  voice  in  the  plan  by  which 
they  were  ruled.  They  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that  any 
rule  was  better  than  that  of  the  West  India  Company. 

A  Century  of  English  Rule.  —  New  York  remained  a  royal  colony 
for  more  than  a  century.  The  English  governors,  one  of  whom 
was  Edmund  Andros,  with  few  exceptions,  rarely  visited  the 
colony  ;  they  were  content  to  draw  their  salaries  and  remain 
at  home l  —  a  plan  that  was  highly  satisfactory  to  all  concerned. 
The  responsible  executive  was  the  lieutenant-governor,  who  was 
almost  always  a  colonist.  The  real  management  of  affairs  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  leading  men  of  the  colony.  The  colonial  charter 
gave  to  the  assembly,  which  was  elected  by  the  people,  control 
of  the  public  funds,  and  without  funds  the  governor  could  accom 
plish  nothing;  he  certainly  was  powerless  to  do  any  mischief. 
Thus,  with  an  elective  assembly  controlling  the  public  funds, 
even  a  royal  province  might  enjoy  a  large  amount  of  local  self- 
government. 


NEW  JERSEY 

The  Settlement  of  New  Jersey.  —  During  the  Dutch  period,  the 
territory  between  the  Hudson  and  Delaware  rivers  had  remained 
almost  unoccupied,  except  for  the  manors  that  had  been  established 

1  Governor  Thomas  Dongan  was  a  notable  exception.  He  was  a  statesman 
possessing  great  executive  ability  and  a  breadth  of  character  not  commonly  found 
in  the  men  of  his  time.  In  shaping  the  policy  of  the  future  state,  he  accomplished 
more  than  all  the  other  colonial  governors. 


THE  DUTCH  AND   QUAKER   COLONIES 


53 


along  the  rivers.1  Governor  Winthrop  of  Connecticut  had  been 
led  to  believe  that  this  region  would  be  given  to  Connecticut  as  a 
reward  for  his  services  in  the  overturning  of  New  Netherland. 
Colonel  Nichols,  the  governor  of  New  York,  had  supposed  it  to  be 
a  part  of  that  colony,  and  had  issued  to  purchasers  several  patents 


THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES. 

for  tracts  of  considerable  size.  To  the  surprise  of  all,  however, 
they  discovered  that  the  Duke  of  York  had  already  given  away 
the  whole  region  to  Sir  George  Carte  ret  and  Lord  John  Berkeley 
(1664).  These  proprietors  named  it  New  Jersey. 

1  There  were  the  villages  of  Hoboken,  Pavonia,  and  Bergen.     A  few  families 
from  Long  Island  had  takeu  farms  on  the  shore  of  Newark  Bay. 


54  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Carteret  and  Berkeley  did  not  find  the  task  of  colony  making 
an  easy  one.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  people  had  about  all 
the  political  privileges  they  asked  for,  there  was  constant  turmoil. 
Lord  Berkeley  finally  wearied  of  his  purchase  and  sold  it  (1673) 
to  a  company  of  Friends,  who  founded  the  town  of  Burlington. 
At  this  time  the  region  was  divided  into  East  Jersey  and  West 
Jersey.  William  Perm,  acting  for  another  company  of  Friends, 
purchased  West  Jersey.  In  1702  'both  colonies  agreed  to  give  up 
their  charters,  and  they  were  united  as  the  royal  province  of  New 
Jersey. 

PENNSYLVANIA 

The  Society  of  Friends.  —  Since  the  Church  was  managed  by 
the  State  in  most  European  countries  at  this  period,  a  religious 
heretic  was  almost  always  a  political  heretic 
as  well,  no  matter  what  might  be  his  country 
or  his  fa.ith.  Among  the  religious  sects  in 
England  that  became  very  prominent  was  the 
Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,1  as  they  are 
commonly  called.  Now,  although  their  belief 
was  a  pure  and  spiritual  doctrine,  yet  some 
of  the  members  of  the  society  were  very 
troublesome.  In  obedience  to  what  they 
conceived  to  be  their  duty,  they  not  only  re 
fused  to  recognize  the  forms  of  church  wor 
ship  established  bylaw,  but  they  also  refused 
to  observe  the  ceremonies  expected  of  citizens 
toward  their  chief  magistrates.  A  Friend 
would  not  doff  his  hat  to  the  king,  nor 
would  he  kneel  to  the  Pope ;  he  would  not 
A  QUAKER.  permit  him  self  to  address  any  one  by  a  title  of 

honor.     He  would  pay  taxes  neither  for  the  support  of  an  estab 
lished  church  nor  for  war.    He  would  not  even  take  an  oath  in  court. 

*  It  is  alleged  that  George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  when  before  Judge 
Bennet  at  Derby  (1650),  said  to  him,  "  T  bid  thee  tremble  before  the  word  of  th« 
Lord  " ;  whereupon  the  judge  was  satirically  called  a  "  Quaker." 


THE  DUTCH  AND  QUAKER   COLONIES  55 

As  a  result,  the  Friends  were  constantly  in  trouble.  In  England 
they  were  punished  as  violators  of  the  law,  and  were  mercilessly 
persecuted  as  well.  This  resulted,  not  in  crushing  them  but,  as 
is  usually  the  case,  in  increasing  their  numbers  and  strengthening 
the  cause  they  upheld. 

William  Penn.  —  William  Penn,  a  son  of  Admiral  Sir  William 
Penn,  was  a  Friend.  He  came  from  a  noted  fighting  family,  and 
his  conversion  to  the  principles  of  the  sect  seems  to  have  devel 
oped  in  him  the  fighting  characteristics  of  the  family.  He  was 
expelled  from  Oxford  University  for  obnoxious  conduct  in  express 
ing  his  faith,  and  for  the  next  ten  or  fifteen  years  he  divided  his 
time  between  a  very  strenuous  "passive  resistance"1  and  the 
prison  to  which  he  was  sent  as  a  punishment  for  disobedience. 
He  had  the  friendship  of  Charles  II  before  the  latter  became 
king;  more  than  once  Charles  interceded  for  Penn  and,  on  one 
occasion,  got  him  out  of  prison.2 

During  the  turmoil  incident  to  restoring  the  monarchy  after 
the  rule  of  Cromwell,  Charles  II  had  become  indebted  to  Admiral 
Penn  to  the  amount  of  sixteen  thousand  pounds.  The 
This  claim  against  the  king  was  inherited  by  William  Pennsyi- 
Penn.  When  he  decided  to  remove  the  Society  of  vania  grant 
Friends  from  England,  he  offered  the  king  a  receipt  in  full  for 
the  debt,  provided  he  should  have  a  deed  to  the  unoccupied  lands 
remaining  in  the  neutral  zone  between  the  grants  of  the  London 
and  the  Plymouth  companies.  This  territory,  in  all  about  forty 
thousand  square  miles,  was  granted  to  Penn  in  1681.  At  the 
same  time  Penn  purchased  the  land  now  forming  the  state  of 
Delaware,  in  order  to  have  a  seaboard  for  his  colony. 

The  Colony  of  Pennsylvania.  —  During  1681  a  number  of  Quaker 
families  settled  at  Chester  on  the  Delaware,  a  town  which  had 

1  Passive  resistance,  as  distinguished  from  active,  forcible  resistance,  marked 
the  conduct  and  the  policy  of  the  society. 

2  Admiral  Penn  was  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Stuarts,  then   the  reigning 
family  of  England,  and  had  helped  in  restoring  the  House  of  Stuart  to  the  throne. 
William  Penn,  the  son,  was  absolutely  fearless  in  doing  what  he  believed  to  be 
right  and  just.    His  fighting  proclivities  were  mellowed  by  the  ripeness  of  age, 
and  even  his  bitterest  opponents  bore  testimony  to  the  sturdy  quality  of  his 
character. 


56 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


been  settled  by  the  Swedes.  The  following  year  (1682)  Penn  him 
self,  in  company  with  about  one  hundred  people,  set  sail  for 
America,  in  order  to  establish  what  he  termed  the  "Holy  Experi 
ment."  That  same  year  he  founded  the  city  of  Philadelphia,1  the 
plan  of  which  remains  practically  unchanged  to  this  day.2  The 
first  house  was  built  in  1683,  and  in  three  years  following  the 
city  gained  more  in  population  than  New  York  City  had  gained 
in  forty  years. 

Penn  was   determined   that  the  government   should   be   very 
liberal.     He  himself  appointed  the  governor ;  an  advisory  council 

and  an  assembly  were  elected  by 
the  people.  The  Indians  were 
paid  for  all  lands  taken,  and  the 
treaty  made  between  them  arid 
the  colony  was  kept  so  long  as 
the  Friends  controlled  the  colony. 
Full  religious  liberty  was  guar 
anteed  ;  all  taxpayers  could  vote  ; 
any  member  of  a  Christian  church 
might  hold  office  ;  and  every  child 
was  to  be  taught  a  useful  trade. 
The  liberality  in  religious  mat 
ters,  together  with  the  excellent 
government,  attracted  many  set 
tlers,  and  these  were  of  the  very 
best.  At  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  Philadelphia 
had  a  population  of  thirty  thousand ;  Lancaster,  York,  and  New 
castle  were  thriving  towns.3  Next  to  Virginia,  Pennsylvania  was 
the  richest  colony.  Wheat,  lumber,  ale,  glass,  and  pig  iron 

1  The  name  Philadelphia  means  "  brotherly  love."     The  name  of  the  colony, 
Pennsylvania,  signifies  "Penn's  woods." 

2  That  is,  the  part  of  the  city  situated  between  the  Delaware  and  the  Schuyl- 
kill  rivers.     It  included  the  Swedish  village  of  Wiccaco,  founded  in  1636  by  Queen 
Christina  of  Sweden.     It  also  included  a  prosperous  Indian  village.     Old  Swede's 
Church,  yet  standing,  was  built  (1700)  on  the  site  of  a  log  church  and  blockhouse 
built  in  1677  by  the  Swedes. 

3  The  lands  known  as  the  New  Purchase  were  bought  of  the  Six  Nations  in 


THE  DUTCH  AND   QUAKER   COLONIES  57 

were  exported  to  England ;  the  foreign  commerce  required  five 
hundred  ships. 

Perm's  sons  succeeded  him  as  proprietors  of  the  colony. 


DELAWARE 

Swedish  Settlements.  1630-1655.  —  The  Swedes  shared  the  gen 
eral  desire  to  acquire  territory  in  America.  Some  time  about 
1630  they  made  settlements  along  the  banks  of  the  lower  Dela 
ware  River,  one  on  Tinicum  Island  near  Philadelphia,  and  another 
on  the  site  of  that  city.  In  1637  they  occupied  the  lands  of  a 
Dutch  colony  near  the  present  town  of  Lewes,  Delaware,  the 
Dutch  having  been  driven  away  by  Indians.  The  Swedes  pur 
chased  from  the  natives  the  bay  and  river  front  from  Cape  Hen- 
lopen  to  the  present  site  of  Wilmington.  The  Dutch,  however, 
never  gave  up  their  claim  to  this  region;  Governor  Stuyvesant 
captured  it  in  1655,  making  it  a  part  of  New  Netherland,  and 
expelled  all  who  would  not  swear  allegiance  to  Holland. 

The  Colony  changes  Hands.  —  When  the  Duke  of  York  seized 
New  Netherland  in  1664,  Delaware  became  an  English  posses 
sion.  York  sold  it,  in  1681,  to  William  Penn,  and  for  a  time  it 
was  considered  a  part  of  Pennsylvania,  although  under  a  separate 
charter.  At  the  time  of  its  sale  it  was  known  as  The  Terri 
tories.  At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution  the 
people  declared  themselves  independent,  and  Delaware  was  the 
name  given  to  the  state. 

SUMMARY 

New  York  Bay  was  probably  first  entered  by  Yerrazano  in  1524,  but 
Hudson's  discovery  of  it  in  1609  led  to  the  first  settlement. 

The  Dutch  West  India  Company  established  a  trading  post  on  Man 
hattan  Island  in  1613. 

1768.  This  tract  added  the  counties  now  included  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  state,  and  a  very  large  immigration  was  attracted  into  the  valleys  of  the 
Susquehanna  and  Allegheny  rivers.  Just  after  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  (1778),  the  Congress  purchased  the  unsold  lands  for  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  pounds. 


58  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  colony  was  built  up  by  the  method  of  giving  land  grants  called 
manors  to  any  member  of  the  company  who  might  bring  to  the  colony 
fifty  able-bodied  settlers. 

The  English  captured  New  Amsterdam  in  1664,  made  it  a  province  of 
England,  and  named  it  New  York. 

The  Duke  of  York  granted  New  Jersey  to  Carteret  and  Berkeley  in 
1664.  .  They  sold  East  Jersey  to  a  company  of  Friends,  who  settled  at 
Burlington,  and  West  Jersey  to  William  Perm.  The  two  colonies  were 
united  and  became  a  royal  province  in  1702. 

Pennsylvania  was  settled  by  Friends  from  England  under  the  leader 
ship  of  William  Penn,  to  whom  the  lands  were  given. 

In  1682  Penn,  with  about  one  hundred  followers,  founded  the  city  of 
Philadelphia. 

The  government  was  liberal,  and  full  religious  freedom  was  allowed. 

Swedish  emigrants  formed  several  settlements  along  the  lower  Dela 
ware  River  from  1630  to  1640.  In  1655  Governor  Stuyvesant  of  New 
Amsterdam  took  possession. 

Delaware  became  an  English  possession  in  1664,  and  in  1681  was  pur 
chased  by  William  Penn  to  be  included  as  a  part  of  Pennsylvania. 

Delaware  became  a  separate  state  at  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the 
Revolution. 

COLLATERAL  READING 

Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies  in  America  —  Fiske.  Henry  Hudson, 
Vol.  I,  82;  the  patroons,  Vol.  I,  133;  wampum,  Vol.  1, 174;  Peter  Stuy 
vesant,  Vol.  1, 198  ;  Dutch  and  English,  Vol.  I,  274 ;  Sir  Edmund  Andros, 
Vol.  II,  37;  William  Penn,  Vol.  II,  114;  Penn,  Andros,  and  West  Jersey, 
Vol.  H,  141;  the  Quaker  exodus,  Vol.  II,  155;  New  York  annexed  to 
New  England,  Vol.  II,  177;  Leisler,  Vol.  II,  188  ;  Captain  Kidd,  Vol.  II, 
232;  the  Pennsylvania  Commonwealth,  Vol.  II,  294;  Knickerbocker 
Society,  Vol.  II,  258. 

The  Making  of  the  Empire  State  —  Redway. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES 
PLYMOUTH  COLONY 

The  Puritans  and  the  Separatists.  —  The  invention  of  the  art  of 
printing  from  movable  type  marked  the  beginning  of  a  period  of 
religious  unrest,  and  the  relation  of  the  two  is  not  The  inven- 
difficult  to  understand.  Before  the  art  of  printing  tion  of 
was  discovered,  books  were  copied  letter  for  letter  and  Pnntms 
word  for  word  by  scribes  trained  for  the  work.  Only  the  churches, 
the  schools,  and  the  wealthy  people  could  afford  to  possess  copies 
of  the  Bible.  The  greater  number  of  these  were  in  the  Trreek  or 
the  Latin  language,  and  therefore  could  not  be  understood  by 
the  masses  of  people.  About  the  first  book  to  be  printed  was  the 
Bible.  In  England  and  Scotland  several  translations  were  made, 
and  within  a  few  years  after  the  invention  of  printing  a  Bible 
could  be  found  in  the  home  of  the  humblest  family. 

Now  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  for  untrained  minds  to  compre 
hend  the  Bible,  and  as  a  result  different  people  interpreted  its 
sayings  in  different  ways.  In  England  a  great  many  became 
dissatisfied  with  the  creed  of  the  Established  Church.  As  early 
as  1580  there  were  dissenters  from  it  who  declared  their  right 
to  worship  as  they  pleased.  Those  who  actually  withdrew  from 
the  Established  Church  were  called  Separatists  because  they  had 
separated  from  it.  But  many  remained  in  the  Church  of  Eng 
land  and  tried  to  purify  it.  They  were  therefore  commonly 
known  as  Puritans. 

Religious  Persecution  results  in  Emigration.  —  Both  in  England 
and  on  the  continent  the  affairs  of  the  Church  and  the  State 
were  so  closely  entangled  that,  in  many  cases,  to  refuse  the  doc- 


60 


TILE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


trines  of  the  Church  was  also  to  disobey  the  State.  Dissenters 
from  the  Church  were  therefore  very  apt  to  be  offenders  against 
the  laws  of  the  land.  No  one  seemed  to  realize  that  to  punish 
people  for  obedience  to  their  conscience  is  the  surest  way  to 
strengthen  them  in  their  belief.  The  punishment  of  dissenters 
became  so  severe  that  it  grew  into  persecution. 

In  England,  during  the  first  years  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
religious   persecution  was  at  its  height.     At   this  time  the  law 


A  CHAINED  LIBRARY,  FOUNDED  1598. 

It  was  the  usual  practice  in  olden  times,  when  books  were  rare  and  precious,  to 
chain  them  to  the  shelves  so  that  they  could  not  be  stolen. 

compelled  every  one  to  attend  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
which  was  the  Established  Church  of  England,  and  also  to  pay 
taxes  for  its  support.  This  was  a  great  injustice  to  the  Catholics, 
who  were  thereby  compelled  not  only  to  pay  toward  the  support  of 
a  church  in  whose  doctrines  they  did  not  believe,  but  also  to  accept 
these  doctrines.  The  Puritans  and  the  Separatists  were  likewise 
objects  of  persecution,  and  so  there  began  an  exodus  of  Catholics, 
Puritans,  and  Separatists  who  found  life  in  England  intolerable. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES 


61 


The  Pilgrims  sail  for  America.     1620.  —  In  16071  a  congregation 
of  Separatists  living  in  Scrooby  emigrated  to  Holland,  where  they 
could  enjoy  religions  freedom  without  being  "hunted     The  Pil_ 
like  wild  beasts "  and  "  clapt  up  in  prison."     There      grims  in 
they  lived  peacefully  at  Leyden  for  eleven  years,  and      Holland 
by  the  end  of  that  time  the  company  had  grown  to  about  one 
thousand.    Many  objected  to  remaining  longer  in  Holland,  because 
they  discovered  that  their  children  were  growing  up  to  be  Dutch 
in  character  and  customs,  instead  of  English ;  they  also  feared  a 
religious  war  between  Spain  and  Holland.     So  they  resolved  to 
establish  a  community  which,  while  thoroughly  English,  would 
afford  them  the  religious  liberty  they  sought. 

This,  they  thought,  could  be  found  only  in  America.  So  William 
Brewster  and  John  Robinson,  the  leaders  of  the  congregation, 
secured  from  the  Lon 
don  company  a  grant 
of  land  to  be  located 
"somewhere  near 
Hudson's  River,  with 
in  the  limits  of  Vir 
ginia.'7  2  In  company 
with  Captain  Miles 
Standish,  Brewster 
and  about  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  Sepa 
ratists  left  Holland 
in  the  ship  SpeedweU, 
bound  for  Southamp 
ton,  England ;  there 

they  were  joined  by  the  Mayflower.  King  James  refused  royal 
permission  to  the  undertaking  of  the  congregation,  but  he  also 
declined  to  notice  their  presence  in  an  English  port,  believing  that 

1  The  date  1608  is  given  by  some  authorities. 

2  The  company  of  "  Merchant  Adventurers  "  of  London  agreed  to  furnish  the 
money  for  the  enterprise  on  the  following  terms:   the  members  were  to  labor 
without  any  days  of  rest  except  Sunday  for  a  term  of  seven  years,  and  the  prop 
erty  and  accumulations  were  to  be  equally  divided,  at  the  end  of  that  time, 
between  the  company  and  the  congregation. 


E2S5 


THE  MAYFLOWER. 


62  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

they  would  be  less  troublesome  in  America  than  in  Europe.  The 
two  vessels  left  Southampton  but,  the  Speedwell  proving  unsea- 
worthy,  both  ships  turned  back  to  Plymouth.  The  Mayflower 
thereupon  took  all  who  could  be  carried,  one  hundred  and  two 
people  in  all,1  and  sailed  from  Plymouth,  September  6,  1620, 
bound  for  the  Virginia  coast.  Thereafter  the  congregation 
called  themselves  Pilgrims.2 

After  nine  weeks  of  heavy  weather,  the  Mayflower  sighted  Cape 
Cod.  This  was  much  farther  north  than  they  had  intended  to 
land,  and  also  beyond  the  northern  limit  of  the  Virginia  grant. 
Several  days  were  spent  in  attempting  to  pass  the  ship  around 
the  cape  to  the  southward,  but  the  strong  head  winds  prevented. 
So  a  landing  was  made  at  the  harbor  now  called  Provincetown. 

The  Compact  a  Forerunner  of  Constitutional  Government.  —  By 
this  time,  owing  to  the  great  suffering,  there  was  much  discord 
among  the  members  of  the  congregation.  Many  were  opposed  to 
going  farther.  In  this  state  of  affairs,  the  counsels  of  Standish 
and  others  prevailed.  They  held  a  meeting  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Mayflower  and  signed  an  agreement  in  which  they  declared  two 
things  which,  years  afterward,  became  important  factors  in  Ameri 
can  history.  The  two  declarations  were  that  — 

They  were  loyal  subjects  of  the  king. 

They  themselves  would  make  whatever  laws  were  necessary  for 
the  welfare  of  the  colony,  all  promising  to  obey  these  laws. 

The  latter  declaration  is  regarded  as  the  foundation  of  constitu 
tional  government.  The  colony  declared  itself  a  commonwealth 
and  elected  John  Carver  its  governor. 

The  Beginning  of  New  England.3  —  The  Mayflower  remained  at 
the  Provincetown  landing  until  Captain  Standish,  after  several 
The  land-  weeks  of  exploration,  selected  a  harbor  which  John 
ing  at  Smith  had  charted  a  few  years  before  and  had  named 

Plymouth  piymouth.  Into  this  harbor  the  Mayflower  sailed  and 
landed  her  freight  —  the  colony  of  Pilgrims  that  became  one  of 

1  Exactly  one  hundred,  according  to  some  authorities. 

2  See  Hebrews  xi.  13. 

3  John  Smith  was  the  first  to  use  the  name  New  England  in  1614,  when  he 
explored  the  coast  from  Penobscot  Bay  to  Cape  Cod. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES  63 

the  chief  foundation  stones  of  a  great  nation.  Tradition  has 
it  that,  one  by  one  as  the  Pilgrims  landed,  they  stepped  first  on 
a  half-covered  granite  bowlder  and  thence  upon  the  low  sandy 
shore.  This  landing  was  made  December  21,  1620.  During  the 
cruel  winter,  against  which  few  preparations  could  be  made, 
just  half  the  colony  perished.  Nevertheless,  when  the  Mayflower 
started  on  her  return  voyage,  not  one  of  the  survivors  went  with 
her. 

The  locality  where  the  Pilgrims  settled  was  within  the  domain 
of  the  Plymouth  and  not  the  London  company.  Therefore  the 
contract  made  with  the  London  company  did  not  take  effect. 


From  the  painting  by  Bayes. 

PILGRIMS  WATCHING  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  MAYFLOWER  FOR  ENGLAND. 

The  colonists  decided  to  purchase  the  land,  and  their  proposition 
was  accepted  by  the  Plymouth  company. 

During  the  first  year  Governor  Carver  died,  and  William  Brad 
ford  was  chosen  to  fill  his  office.  So  wisely  did  Bradford  adminis 
ter  affairs  that  he  was  continued  in  office  about  thirty 
years.  In  November  the  ship  Fortune  brought  fifty 
more  members  of  the  Leydeii  congregation.  On  her 
return  she  carried  beaver  skins  and  cabinet  woods  to  the  value  of 
five  hundred  pounds,  to  be  used  in  payment  of  the  debt  of  the 
colony,  which  was  about  seven  thousand  pounds.  Unfortunately 
the  cargo  was  captured  by  a  French  cruiser.  The  relations  of 


64  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

* 

the  colony  to  the  debtors  in  England  were  not  pleasant,  so  the 
colonists  themselves  undertook  to  clear  the  debt,  and  in  a  few 
years  paid  the  whole  amount,  principal  and  interest.1  They 
found  to  their  satisfaction  that  the  fur  trade  and  the  fisheries 
yielded  good  profits,  and  that  the  few  acres  of  land  which  had 
been  cleared  produced  an  abundance  of  foodstuffs.  At  first  the 
land  was  cultivated  in  common,  but  this  unwise  plan  was  soon 
followed  by  the  better  one  of  allotting  a  tract  to  each  family. 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  colony  Captain  Standish  made 
friends  with  Massasoit,  the  chief  of  the  Wampanoag  Indians, 

and  a  short  time  afterward  one  of  the  colonists  nursed 
Indian 
friendship      the  chief  through  an  illness  that  nearly  proved  fatal. 

and  hos-  AS  a  token  of  friendship  Massasoit  made  a  treaty  with 
the  colony  which  was  kept  for  half  a  century.  Can- 
onicus,  the  chief  of  the  warlike  Narragansetts,  however,  sent  his 
messenger  to  Plymouth  with  a  bundle  of  arrows  wrapped  in  a 
snake  skin.  This  was  a  challenge  to  war.  Governor  Bradford 
well  knew  that  any  show  of  timidity  would  probably  invite  an 
attack ;  so  the  colonists  stuffed  the  snake  skin  with  powder  and 
bullets  and  sent  it  back  to  Canonicus,  signifying  that  if  he  wanted 
war  they  would  give  him  enough  of  it.  This  reply  was  little  bet 
ter  than  a  bluff,  however,  for  the  fifty  men  of  the  colony,  even 
with  their  muskets,  were  no  match  for  the  two  thousand  Narra- 
gansett  warriors.  Nevertheless,  it  was  effectual. 

The  Town  Meeting.  —  One  feature  of  no  little  importance  came 
immediately  into  the  life  of  the  colony,  namely,  the  town  meet 
ing.  In  this  assembly  all  men  met  on  equal  terms  and  discussed 
public  affairs  and  made  the  laws  that  governed  the  community. 
The  town  meeting  was  at  once  recognized  in  New  England  as 
a  necessity  imposed  by  the  surroundings.  Unlike  the  settlers 
in  Virginia,  the  people  of  Plymouth  were  living  in  very  close 
association ;  in  Virginia  the  tobacco  plantations  were  isolated 
and  each  was  a  little  colony  by  itself.  In  the  future  of  the 
American  republic,  the  town  meeting  was  to  become  a  fundamental 
principle. 

1  They  borrowed  the  money  for  the  payment  in  London,  paying  interest  at  the 
rate  of  more  than  thirty  per  cent. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  65 

The  Passing  of  the  Colony.  1691.  —  Although  most  of  the  indi 
vidual  members  of  the  Pilgrim  congregation  prospered,  yet  the 
colony  as  a  whole  did  not.  The  organization  was  that  of  a  busi 
ness  firm  with  practically  no  power  to  do  business.  Even  when 
the  colony  was  small,  the  difficulty  was  great ;  when  the  number 
had  reached  three  thousand,  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to  accom 
plish  the  legislation  that  was  necessary  for  the  raising  and  expen 
diture  of  money.1 

There  was  a  more  potent  factor,  namely,  competition.  When 
the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  was  founded,  it  quickly  outstripped 
its  older  sister  at  Plymouth.  Its  rapid  growth  was  due  to  its 
geographic  location.  Plymouth  Harbor  had  not  the  advantages 
of  accessibility  and  commanding  position  that  its  more  fortunate 
rival,  Boston  Bay,  possessed.  Few  vessels  cared  to  go  to  Plym 
outh  when  Boston  was  so  much  nearer.  So  in  1691,  under  a 
charter  granted  by  William  and  Mary,  the  colony  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay  absorbed  Plymouth,  with  several  other  colonies. 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Land  Grants  in  New  England.  —  In  the  twenty  years  following  the 
settlement  at  Plymouth  two  factors  in  England  were  operating  to 
strengthen  the  settlements  in  America.  The  attention  of  adventur 
ous  merchants  was  attracted  to  the  fur  trade  and  the  fisheries ; 
the  persecution  of  the  Puritans  was  carried  on  as  vigorously  by 
Charles  I  as  it  had  been  by  his  father,  James  I.  The  result  was 
an  extensive  emigration  to  America.  The  king  was  bestowing 
charters  and  land  grants ;  and  he  was  sometimes  careless  about 
the  provisions  of  the  former  and  the  boundaries  of  the  latter.  A 
number  of  trading  posts  had  been  established  on  or  near  the  coast 
by  different  companies  in  consequence  of  the  land  grants,2  and 
much  trouble  resulted  in  after  years. 

1  The  Plymouth  colony  had  acquired  territory  at  Cape  Ann,  an  extensive  pos 
session  on  the  Keanettec,  and  a  trading  post  on  the  Connecticut,  but  it  could  not 
make  the  enterprises  profitable. 

2  Among  these  were  Noddles  Island  (now  East  Boston),   made  by  Samuel 
Maverick :  one  near  Cape  Ann,  established  by  John  White  and  others ;  Shawmut 


66 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


One  of  these  land  grants  made  to  Ferdinando  Gorges  and  John 
Mason  (1622)  embraced  all  the  territory  between  the  Kennebec 
and  Merrimac  rivers.  Another  grant,  given  (1628)  to  a  stern 
Puritan,  John  Endicott,  extended  from  a  line  three  miles  south 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES. 


In 


of  Charles  River  to  one  three  miles  north  of  the  Merrimac. 
each  case  the  grants  extended  from  ocean  to  ocean. 

The  Massachusetts  Bay  Company.     1629.  —  Endicott  knew  that 

a  son  of  Ferdinando  Gorges  had  obtained  a  grant  oi 
settlement     ^nree  hundred  square  miles  within  that  of  his  own 

company,  and  that  a  settlement  had  been  established 
upon  it ;  he  also  realized  that  "  possession  is  nine  points  of  the 

Peninsula  (now  Boston),  settled  by  William  Blackstone.  A  settlement  on  the 
present  site  of  Quincy  was  characterized  as  a  "  schoole  of  athisme  "  by  Gov 
ernor  Bradford,  and  Captain  Standish  was  ordered  to  break  it  up,  which  he  did. 
The  chief  cause  of  offense  seems  to  have  been  that  the  settlers  there  celebrated 
May  Day  and  that  they  used  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  61 

law."  In  1628  lie  started  for  his  newly  acquired  territory 
with  a  party  of  sixty  Puritans.  He  dispossessed  the  settlers 
under  the  Gorges  patent  and  established  a  new  settlement,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Salem,  a  Hebrew  word  meaning 
"  peace." 

The  English  managers  of  the  colony  recognized  the  value  of 
good  business  organization,  and  so.  in  1629,  a  royal  charter  was 
obtained  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Company  was  formed. 
Immediately  afterward  more  than  four  hundred  people,  including 
clergymen,  professional  men,  artisans,  and  servants,  left  England 
to  make  their  homes  in  the  new  colony.  Endicott  was  made 
governor.  The  colony  was  for  Puritans  only;  there  was  to  be 
no  toleration  of  any  other  religious  belief. 

Although  Charles  I  was  a  great  stickler  for  the  rights  of  a 
sovereign  over  his  people,  yet  he  gave  the  corporation 
a  liberal   charter.     The    colonists   elected  their   own 
officers,  including  a  council,  or  General  Court,  chosen   for  the 
purpose   of   making   the   laws.     These   provisions   seemed   very 
liberal,  but  it  soon  became  apparent  that  under  them  there  could 
exist  a  tyranny  more  powerful  than   had   existed    under  either 
James  or  Charles. 

The  Settlement  of  Boston.  1630.  —  The  year  1630  was  marked 
by  a  great  emigration  to  America.  In  England  persecution  of  the 
Puritans  was  carried  on  more  severely  than  before.  For  the 
wealthier  of  this  sect  there  was  safety  neither  of  person  nor  of 
property.  The  agents  of  the  king  would  force  them  to  loan 
money  ;  if  they  refused  to  be  robbed,  they  were  pressed  into  the 
army  or  the  navy,  or  else  cast  into  prison.  There  was  nothing  for 
them  but  to  get  away  from  England.  Moreover,  business  was 
poor  in  the  various  industries  in  England,  and  many  thousands 
were  out  of  work. 

So  when  John  Winthrop,  a  wealthy  Puritan  and  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Company,  decided  to  go  to 
America,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  finding  plenty  of  people  to  go 
with  him;  and  more  than  seven  hundred  persons  with  their  horses, 
cattle,  and  household  goods  followed  him  there.  They  had  intended 
to  go  to  Salem,  but  they  found  Shawmut  Peninsula  more  to  their 


68 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Immigra 
tion 


liking,  and  settled  there.     The  harbor  was  excellent ;  good  farm 
ing  land  and  growing  timber  were  near  by  ;  the  place  could  be 

easily  fortified  in  case  of  neces 
sity.  Indeed,  a  better  location 
could  not  have  been  found  north 
of  New  York  Bay.  The  settle 
ment  at  first  was  named  Tri- 
mountain,  but  a  year  later  it  was 
changed  to  Boston,  which  was  the 
name  of  the  town  in  England 
whence  many  of  the  people  had 
come.1  Winthrop  was  made  gov 
ernor. 

Within  ten  years,  upward  of 
twenty-five  thousand  had  come  to 
the  territory  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay  Com 
pany.  They  included 
clergymen  and  scholars  of  renown ; 
what  was  even  better,  the  great  majority  were  intelligent  and 
thinking  men  and  women  who  were  not  afraid  of  work.  A 
few  went  to  Salem,  a  larger  number  to  Boston,  Dorchester, 
Roxbury,  Charlestown,  Watertown,  Cambridge,  and  other  village 
settlements  were  established.  The  immigration  did  not  fall  off 
materially  until  the  persecution  of  the  Puritans  had  ceased  in 
England,  and  this  occurred,  not  because  the  king  had  grown  more 
indulgent,  but  because  of  the  beginning  of  the  uprising  that  was 
to  cost  him  his  head.  From  that  time  until  the  corporation  be 
came  a  royal  province,  the  growth  of  New  England  did  not  keep 
pace  with  that  of  the  other  colonies. 

Social  Features.  —  In  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony  every 
freeman  and  his  family  had  the  right  to  move  wherever  he 
pleased.  He  was  thus  free  from  a  restriction  which  exists  in 

1  The  name  Boston  is  a  corruption  of  St.  Botolphstown  ;  Trimountain  became 
"  Tremont  " ;  both  names  survive  as  names  of  streets  of  the  present  city.  The 
Beacon  Hill, 'near  the  place  where  the  first  settler  Blackstone  lived,  gave  the 
name  to  Beacon  Street. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  69 

some  parts  of  Europe  to-day.  A  man  was  not  permitted  to  beat 
or  chastise  his  wife,  and  lie  was  required  to  provide  for  his  family 
under  pain  of  severe  punishment.  For  certain  offenses  he  could 
be  whipped  or  put  into  the  pillory  *  by  a  sentence  of  the  law.a 
A  woman  convicted  of  being  a  common  scold  might  be  publicly 
ducked  ;  the  offender  was  made  secure  in  a  chair  called  a  ducking 
stool,  which  was  lowered  into  the  water.  Sabbath  breaking  was 
punished  by  fine  or  imprisonment.  It  was  enacted  that  "  there 
shall  never  be  any  bond  slaverie,  villinage,  or  captivitie  among 
us,  unless  it  be  lawfull  captives  taken  in  just  warres,  and  such 
strangers  as  willinglie  selle  themselves  or  are  sold  to  us."  This 
was  a  provision  with  rather  wide  loopholes ;  nevertheless,  there 
was  not  much  slavery  in  Massachusetts. 

Public  Schools  Established.  —  Education  was  fostered  from  the 
very  first.  In  1635  a  public  school  was  established  in  Boston, 
and  twelve  years  afterward  provision  was  made  for  the  instruc 
tion  of  all  white  children.  In  1636  the  General  Court  voted 
four  hundred  pounds,3  about  one  year's  tax  of  the  colony,  for  the 
founding  of  a  college  at  Cambridge.4  A  few  years  later  John  Har 
vard,  a  wealthy  clergyman,  left  his  library  of  several  hundred 
volumes  and  a  money  bequest  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
to  the  college.  It  was  the  first  college  established  in  America, 
and  the  General  Court  named  the  institution  after  its  generous 
donor. 

The  Rise  of  the  Puritan  Theocracy.5  —  The  dominant  people  in 
Massachusetts  were  the  clergymen.  In  social  standing  they  out 
ranked  the  gentry.  They  were  not  only  the  spiritual  but  the 
political  leaders  as  well.  Their  position  was  exalted,  and  they 
were  not  slow  to  recognize  the  fact.  The  commonwealth  was  for 
Puritans  only.  At  first  it  was  brought  about  by  public  senti 
ment  that  none  but  Puritans  should  vote  or  exercise  authority. 

1  The  offender  was  stood  up  in  a  public  place  with  his  head  and  arms  stuck 
through  the  holes  in  a  wooden  frame  which  constituted  the  pillory. 

2  It  is  the  law  in  Delaware  to  this  day. 

8  Now  about  the  equivalent  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 
4  Then  called  Newtown. 

«  A  theocracy  is  a  form  of  government  in  which  God  is  regarded  as  the  supreme 
ruler  of  the  state  and  the  laws  are  based  on  the  Bible. 


70  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Then  it  was  enacted  that  none  but  church  members  in  good  stand 
ing  should  vote. 

Willful  absence  from  church  services  was  punished  by  repri 
mand,  fine,  or  imprisonment,  the  fine  being  five  shillings  (about 
$1.20)  for  each  absence.  For  a  time  the  daily  services  at  churches 
consumed  the  larger  part  of  the  day.  This  proved  a  great  hard 
ship,  and  so  it  was  ordered  that  they  should  not  begin  until  one 
o'clock.  This  was  still  burdensome,  and  they  were  cut  down 
to  two  days  a  week,  the  services  often  continuing  till  long  after 
dark.1  The  General  Court  then  attempted  to  regulate  the  matter, 
but  the  ministers  would  not  tolerate  further  interference. 

The  Persecution  of  Non-Puritans.  —  It  was  enacted  that  any  one 
who  reproached  a  minister,  his  sermon,  or  his  doctrine  should  be 
reprimanded  for  the  first  offense  and  fined  five  pounds  for  the 
second.2  In  addition  the  culprit  was  to  stand  in  the  pillory  and 
wear  a  placard  reading  "a  wanton  Gospeller,"  written  in  large 
letters.  Baptists,  Friends,  and  Catholics  were  punished  by  fine, 
imprisonment,  flogging,  banishment,  or  hanging. 

Among  the  many  people  who  were  persecuted  was  Mrs.  Anne 
Hutchinson,  a  noted  teacher  and  lecturer  of  great  power.  She 
was  bold  enough  to  reproach  the  leading  ministers  with  too  much 
form  and  too  little  faith.  In  consequence  she  was  banished. 
Roger  Williams,  who  was  also  considered  dangerous,  was  ordered 
to  England,  but  he  escaped  to  the  Indians  instead.  Nearly  a 
hundred  colonists,  mainly  of  the  gentry,  were  fined  or  banished 
for  too  freely  criticising  clerical  management;  others  were  de 
prived  of  the  right  to  vote.  The  fine  often  amounted  prac- 

1  A  service  in  London  is  thus  described :  "  After  Dr.  Twisse  had  begun  with  a 
brief  prayer,  Mr.  Marshall  prayed  large  for  two  hours,  most  divinely  confessing 
the  sins  of  the  members  of  the  assembly,  in  a  wonderful,  pathetic,  and  prudent 
way.    After,  Mr.  Arrowsmith  preached  an  hour,  then  a  psalm  ;  thereafter,  Mr. 
Vines  prayed  near  two  hours,  and  Mr.  Palmer  preached   an   hour;  after,  Mr. 
Henderson  brought  them  to  a  sweet  confession  of  faults  to  be  reminded,  and  the 
conveniency  to  preach  against  all  sects,  especially  the  Anabaptists  and  Antinomi- 
ans.    Dr.  Twisse  closed  with  prayer." 

2  For  saying  she  "  had  as  lief  hear  a  cat  mew,  as  Mr.  Shepard  preach,"  Ursula 
Cole  was  fined  "  five  pounds  or  be  whipped."     She  was  very  poor;  the  whipping 
was  made  a  part  of  the  sentence  in  order  to  insure  payment  of  the  fine.    It  was, 
of  course,  a  heavy  punishment. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES 


71 


tically  to  taking  all  the  victim's  property.  Those  banished  were 
forced  to  go  forth  with  their  wives  and  children  into  a  wilderness 
among  savages. 

The  Witchcraft  at  Salem.  1691. — The  belief  in  witchcraft  is 
about  as  old  as  the  human  family,  and  wherever  we  read  history 
we  shall  find  the  existence  of  human  faith  in  an  unseen,  evil 
power.  In  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  more  than 
eight  thousand  men,  women,  and  children  were  burnt  at  the 
stake  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  accused  of  the  practice  of  witch- 


Ax  OLD  CHURCH  AT  HINGHAM,  MASSACHUSETTS. 
The  oldest  meeting  house  in  present  use  in  New  England.    Built  in  1680. 

craft,  that  is,  of  dealing  with  the  devil.1  There  were  several  cases 
in  Massachusetts  as  early  as  1648,  but  the  most  serious  outbreak 
occurred  in  Salem  village  in  1691.  An  ignorant  negro  woman 
in  the  family  of  Kev.  Samuel  Parris  secretly  practiced  magic 
and  incantations  with  some  young  women  of  the  town.  The 
experiences  of  these  clandestine  meetings  wrought  the  girls  to 
a  high  -state  of  nervousness.  When  discovered,  they  went  into 
hysterical  fits  and  convulsions,  and  the  physicians  and  ministers 

i  Within  the  twentieth  century  at  least  two  charges  of  the  practice  of  witch 
craft  have  been  made  before  justices'  courts  in  the  United  States,  testimpiiy 
being  taken  in  each  case. 


72 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


who  were  called  to  them  pronounced  them  bewitched.  The  negro 
servant  was  at  once  accused  of  witchcraft;  several  other  women 
of  the  village  were  suspected,  and  all  were  promptly  lodged  in  jail. 
The  trials  were  little  better  than  a  farce.  If  the  accused  con 
fessed  to  being  witches,  —  and  some  did  this  either  to  save  their 
lives  or  to  avoid  torture,  —  their  punishment  was  not  very  severe. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  deny  it  was  almost  certain  to  bring  about 
conviction,  and  conviction  meant  almost  equally  certain  death.1 
By  the  time  nineteen  had  been  put  to  death,  public  sentiment 
was  raised  to  a  white  heat.  Even  the  magistrates  who  had  sent 
so  many  to  the  gallows  were  appalled.  The  feeling  of  revulsion 
and  horror  that  had  so  long  been  growing  reached  its  effect,  and 
all  those  in  jail  under  charges  or  conviction  were  set  free.  There 
were  no  more  trials.  Cotton  Mather  and  his  father,  Increase 
Mather,  two  of  the  most  prominent  ministers  of  Boston,  had 
opposed  the  high-handed  way  in  which  innocent  people  were  sent 
to  the  gallows,  yet  both  were  believers  in  witchcraft. 

The  Fall  of  the  Theocracy.  —  For   some   time  Charles    II  had 
watched  the  proceedings  of  the  colony  with  great  displeasure,  if 

not  with  alarm.  In  1643,  when 
the  colonies  formed  the  famous 
New  England  Confederacy,2  they 
began  to  recognize  their  power 
and  comparative  independence, 
and  they  were  not  slow  to  take 
every  possible  advantage  of  it. 
The  clerical  party,  almost  absolute 
in  its  power,  had  shown  contempt  for  the  Church  of  England  and 
for  the  king's  envoys  as  well.  The  General  Court  had  omitted 

1  Rev.   Samuel   Willard,  pastor  of  the   Old   South   Church   in   Boston,   was 
accused  of  witchcraft,  and  about  the  same  time  charges  were  made  also  against 
Lady  Phipps,  wife  of  the  governor,  and    Mrs.  Hale,  the   saintly   wife   of   the 
pastor  at  Beverly. 

2  See  page  81. 

3  A  mint  at  Boston,  in  1652,  issued  coins  bearing  the  device  of  an  American 
pine  tree.     The  king  was  angry  at  this  action,  but  was  appeased  by  the  assurance 
of  one  of  his  advisers  that  the  tree  represented  the  Koyal  Oak  and  symbolized 
the  loyalty  of  Massachusetts. 


A  PINE  TREE  SHILLING.  3 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  73 

the  king's  name  from  official  documents,  and  had  ignored  the 
king's  command  granting  jury  trials  to  persons  accused  of  capital 
offenses.  Two  of  the  judges  who  had  sentenced  Charles  1  to 
death  had  been  protected  in  America.  The  merchants  of  Boston 
had  openly  evaded  the  navigation  laws,  and  the  authorities  of 
the  colony  had  coined  money  without  right.  In  the  colony  itself 
religious  intolerance  had  raised  a  host  of  enemies. 

So,  at  the  demand  of  influential  people  both  in  England  and  in 
Massachusetts,  the  charter  was  annulled  in  1G84,  on  the  charge 
that  royal  powers  had  been  usurped.  The  clerical 
party  used  every  possible  effort  to  prevent  this  action ; 
the  merchants,  who  saw  an  end  to  their  evasion  of  the 
navigation  laws,  also  opposed  it.  To  the  great  mass  of  people, 
however,  it  was  a  decided  relief,  for  it  restored  the  right  to  vote 
to  many  who  had  been  disfranchised. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros,  the  first  royal  governor,  was  an  ar 
bitrary  man,  who  brought  his  military  notions  into  civil  life. 
That  he  was  tyrannical  cannot  be  questioned,  but  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  a  pretty  firm  hand  was  required  to 
straighten  things  out.  When  James  II  was  forced  to 
leave  the  throne  of  England  (1689),  it  did  not  take  long  for  the 
people  of  New  England  to  clap  Andros  into  prison  and  take  the 
government  into  their  own  hands.  A  few  years  later  (1692),  how 
ever,  William  III,  the  successor  of  King  James,  united  Massa 
chusetts,  Plymouth,  and  Maine1  into  a  single  royal  province, 
giving  it  a  very  liberal  charter,  although  the  king  appointed  the 
governor.  Church  membership  was  no  longer  a  qualification  for 
voting,  and  all  denominations  except  the  Catholics  were  tolerated. 
From  the  time  the  new  charter  went  into  operation  until  the  War 
of  the  Revolution  the  colony  prospered. 

RHODE   ISLAND 

The  Heresy  of  Roger   Williams.  —  The   harsh    clerical   rule    in 
Massachusetts  had  one  effect  that  was  not  intended;  it  was  de 
signed  to  strengthen  Puritan   power,  but  it  really  weakened  it. 
1  Maine  then  iucluded  Nova  Scotia. 


74  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Those  who  had  the  courage  openly  to  resist  the  clerical  rule 
were  driven  away.  Those  who  opposed  it  secretly  used  their 
influence  to  bring  the  affairs  of  the  colony  into  disrepute. 

Among  the  former  was  a  bright  young  clergyman,  Roger 
Williams.  Williams  was  an  aggressive  man  much  given  to  argu 
ment;  at  the  same  time  he  was  kind  and  generous  to  a  fault.1 
He  was  forced  to  leave  England  on  account  of  his  liberal  religious 
views,  and  he  settled  in  Plymouth ;  a  year  or  two  later  he  was 
called  to  a  church  in  Salem,  where  his  love  for  argument  quickly 


From  the  painting  by  Wray. 

ROGER  WILLIAMS  BEFRIENDED  BY  THE  NARRAGANSETTS. 

got  him  into  trouble.  His  first  heresy  was  preaching  that  there 
should  be  a  separation  of  the  church  from  the  government,  that 
all  laws  requiring  attendance  at  church  should  be  repealed,  and 
that  all  forms  of  religious  worship  should  be  allowed. 

While  the  elders  of  Salem  and  Boston  were  still  aghast  at 
his  revolutionary  teachings,  Williams  wrote  a  pamphlet  in  which 
he  claimed  that  the  colonists  had  no  right  to  the  land  held  by  the 
company  unless  they  purchased  it  from  the  Indians.  This,  it  was 
feared,  might  open  a  question  already  discussed  in  private,  and 
there  could  be  but  one  result  to  such  imprudence  —  the  General 

l  He  had  been  a  protege  of  the  celebrated  English  lawyer,  Edward  Coke. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  75 

Court  ordered  Williams  to  take  passage  on  the  first  ship  that 
sailed  for  England.  Instead  of  doing  this,  however,  he  escaped 
and  made  his  way  to  Massasoit,  the  chief  of  the  Wampanoag 
Indians.  With  these  Indians  he  spent  the  winter. 

The  Founding  of  New  Settlements.  1636-1638.  —  In  the  follow 
ing  spring  Roger  Williams  was  joined  by  several  friends.  They 
went  to  Narragansett  Bay,  where  (1636)  they  established  the  set 
tlement  of  Providence.1  Williams  had  intended  only  to  build  a 
mission  school  and  church  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  ;  but 
so  many  joined  him  that  in  less  than  three  years  Providence  had 
a  considerable  population.  For  several  years  it  was  a  "  do-as-you- 
please  "  settlement.  It  was  quickly  made  known  that  no  restric 
tions  as  to  religious  belief  were  to  be  imposed.  Catholic  or 
Protestant,  Jew  or  Gentile  —  each  and  all  were  welcome.  A 
Baptist  church,  the  first  in  America,  was  established  there  in  1639. 

In  1638  William  Coddington  and  Anne  Hutchinson  purchased 
the  island  of  Aquidneck  (Rhode  Island),  which  the  Dutch  ex 
plorer  Adrian  Block  had  described  as  a  "  roodt  eylandt "  or 
red  island,  on  account  of  the  bright  color  reflected  from  its  cliffs. 
Settlements  were  made  on  this  island  at  Portsmouth  and,  shortly 
afterward,  at  Newport,  where  a  better  harbor  was  found. 

A  Model  Democracy.  —  From  the  fact  that  these  settlements 
were  established  by  eccentric  people,  more  or  less  trouble  was 
to  be  expected.  There  were  many  settlers  possessed  of  good 
judgment,  however,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  see  that  the 
business  interests  of  the  settlements  were  suffering  for  want  of 
a  stable  government.  Williams  therefore  went  to  England  (1644) 
and  procured  a  charter  which  united  the  settlements  into  a  single 
province. 

Rhode  Island  never  became  a  royal  province.  When  Andros 
was  governor  of  New  England,  he  tried  to  get  the  charter,  but 
the  people  would  not  give  it  up,  and  Rhode  Island  remained  a  char 
ter  colony  until  it  became  one  of  the  United  States.  It  was  the 

1  Their  first  abiding  place  was  at  the  mouth  of  Seekonk  River,  a  tributary  of 
the  Providence  River;  but  this  being  on  land  covered  by  a  prior  grant,  Governor 
Winthrop  notified  them  that  if  they  chose  to  establish  themselves  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Providence  River,  they  would  not  be  molested. 


76  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

smallest  of  the  colonies,  but  it  stood  for  the  broadest  principles 
of  democracy.  Its  principle  of  religious  liberty  for  all  has  become 
the  law  of  the  land ; l  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  de 
clares  that  religious  tests  shall  not  be  required  as  a  qualification 
to  hold  public  office,  and  also  that  the  Congress  shall  make  no 
law  respecting  the  establishment  of  religion  or  forbidding  the 
free  exercise  of  it.2 


CONNECTICUT  AND   NEW   HAVEN 

The  First  Occupation  of  Connecticut.  1634.  —  The  territory  com 
prising  the  state  of  Connecticut,  in  spite  of  its  rugged  and  timber- 
covered  surface,  was  not  an  unknown  region  at  the  time  when 
the  first  settlements  were  made  there.3  It  had  been  the  home 
of  the  Mohegan  Indians,  who  were  slowly  being  crushed  between 
the  Pequots  and  the  Mohawks.  It  was  important  from  the  fact 
that  it  was  a  sort  of  "buffer"  territory  between  New  Netherland 
and  Massachusetts,  being  claimed  by  both.  As  early  as  1634 
William  Holmes,  one  of  the  settlers  of  Plymouth,  sailed  up  the 
Connecticut  River.  He  found  a  Dutch  fort  at  Hartford,  so  he 
built  another  at  the  present  site  of  Windsor,  and  established 
there  a  fur-trading  post.  A  small  settlement  resulted. 

The  Fort  at  Saybrook.  1635.  —  The  doughty  and  rotund  Gov 
ernor  Van  T wilier  of  New  Netherland  sent  a  company  to  break 
up  the  settlement  several  months  afterward,  but  the  settlers 
refused  to  leave.  In  the  meantime  Lord  Say-and-Sele  and  Lord 
I>rooke  had  obtained  a  patent  for  the  greater  part  of  the  land  on 
both  sides  of  Long  Island  Sound.  On  the  west  bank  of  the 
Connecticut  they  built  a  fort,  which  in  after  years  became  the 
village  of  Saybrook. 

The  Connecticut  River  Settlements  and  the  Constitution.  1635- 
1639.  —  The  emigration  into  Connecticut,  however,  was  largely 
due  to  the  teachings  of  Roger  Williams.  People  in  Massachu- 

1  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Article  VI. 

2  Ibid.,  Article  I,  Amendment  I. 

8  The  region  between  the  Connecticut  and  Hudson  rivers  even  to-day  is 
sparsely  peopled  in  comparison  with  the  territory  surrounding  it. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAN1}   COLONIES 


77 


setts  who  believed  that  the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office  should 
not  be  restricted  to  church  members  learned  that  it  was  better 
not  to  discuss  the  matter  publicly  ;  many  of  them,  therefore,  left 
the  colony.  A  number  of  people  from  Dorchester,  Massachusetts, 
went  to  Windsor  in  1635 ;  and  another  party  built  the  village 
of  Weathersfield  in  Connecticut.  In  the  following  year  Pastor 
Hooker  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  led  more  than  one  hundred 
of  his  church  people  to  the  present  site  of  Hartford,  walking 
overland  through  field  and  forest.  The  tide  of  emigration  set 
in  strong,  and  within  a  few  months  nearly  one  thousand  people 
had  come  to  the  settlements  on  the  Connecticut  River.  In  1639 
the  freemen  of  these  settlements  adopted  a  constitution  for  self- 
government.1  This  Hartford  constitution,  as  it  is  called,  pre 
scribed  a  scheme  of  government  and  made  no  reference  to  king 
or  Parliament. 

The  New  Haven  Theocracy.  1638-1665.  —  About  this  time 
Pastor  John  Davenport,  a  Puritan  who  had  a  large  parish  in 
London,  incurred  the 
hostility  of  the  Estab 
lished  Church,  and  was 
forced  to  leave  Eng 
land.  His  parish  con 
tained  many  wealthy 
merchants,  and  a  com 
pany  of  them  went  to 
America  with  him. 
Attracted  by  the  good 
harbor,  they  formed  a 
settlement  (1638)  at 
tne  present  site  of  New 
Haven.  Many  others 
joined  them,  and  the  towns  of  Milford,  Guilford,  and  Stamford- 
were  founded. 

The  government  was  even  more  theocratic  than  that  of  Massa 
chusetts.     The  laws  of  the  Old  Testament  were  made  the  govern- 


AN  OLD  STONE  HOUSE  AT  GUILFORD,  CONN. 
Built  in  1635. 


1  In  this  particular  it  was  much  more  complete   than   the  Mayflower  com 
pact. 


78  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

ing  code.1  Even  trial  by  jury  was  not  at  first  permitted,  because 
authority  for  it  could  not  be  found  in  the  Bible.  Each  town  was 
governed  by  a  board  of  seven  church  officers,  known  as  "  pillars 
of  the  church."  They  were  accusers,  judges,  and  executors. 

The  Union  of  the  Connecticut  Colonies.  1665.  —  Although  the 
New  Haven  colony  had  drawn  the  wrath  of  Charles  II  by 
shielding  two  of  the  judges  ("  regicides,'7  they  were  called)  who 
put  his  father  to  death,  yet  when  a  charter  was  asked  for  by  the 
Connecticut  settlers  in  1665,  the  king  readily  granted  it.  It  is 
thought  that  he  did  this  in  order  to  weaken  the  growing  power 
of  Massachusetts.  At  all  events,  he  provided  that  the  New 
Haven  colony  should  be  included  in  the  charter,  thereby  putting 
an  end  to  its  independent,  theocratic  government.  In  disgust, 
Pastor  Davenport  returned  to  Boston,  and  a  number  of  others 
from  his  colony  went  to  New  Jersey,  where  they  founded  the 
present  city  of  Newark.  James  II  tried  to  obtain  possession 
of  this  charter  (1687)  through  Governor  Andros,  but  he  failed.2 
Connecticut  remained  a  self-governing  colony  until  the  Revolution, 
when  it  became  an  independent  state. 

NEW   HAMPSHIRE   AND   MAINE 

New  Hampshire.  —  The   territory   granted   to   Sir   Ferdinando 
Gorges  and  Captain  Mason,  in  1622,  originally  extended  from  the 
Merrimac  to  the  Kennebee  River,  but  it  was  enlarged 
until  it  was  made  to  comprise  roughly  about  all  the 
area  of  the  present  states  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Vermont.     Moreover,  the  grant  covered  a  part  of  the  terri 
tory  given  to  the  Plymouth  company.     Troubles  regarding  the 

1  It  is  to  this  colony  that  the  alleged  "  Blue  Laws  "  of  Connecticut  were  attrib 
uted.    Among  them  was  one  that  forbade  a  mother  to  caress  her  child  on  Sun 
day.    These  laws  had  no  existence;  they  were  the  hysterical  fabrications  of  one 
Samuel  Peters,  a  minister  who  found  it  advisable  to  leave  New  England  and 
return  to  London.    His  writings  savor  much  of  the  exaggerations  in  the  adven 
tures  of  Baron  Munchausen. 

2  There  is  a  story  that  just  as  the  legislature  was  about  to  deliver  the  charter 
to  Andros,  the  lights  in  the  room  were  put  out  and  the  document  was  seized  and 
hidden  in  the  hollow  of  an  oak  tree.    The  tree  stood  at  Charter  Oak  Place,  Hart 
ford.    It  was  blown  down  in  1856,  but  its  place  is  marked  by  a  tablet. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  79 

boundary  led  Mason  and  Gorges  to  divide  the  grant.  Captain 
Mason  took  the  part  west  of  the  Piscataqua  River,  Gorges  the 
portion  to  the  east  of  the  river.  Mason's  home  was  in  county 
Hampshire,  England,  and  for  that  reason  he  gave  the  name  New 
Hampshire  to  his  land. 

The  lawsuits  over  the  ownership  of  the  lands  of  the  New 
Hampshire  grant  were  carried  011  for  more  than  three-score 
years,  but  finally  the  heirs  of  Mason  gave  up  their  claim  in 
despair.  It  would  not  be  quite  true  to  assert  that  they  had 
been  robbed  of  their  rights  by  trickery,  but  such  was  not  far 
from  the  case.  The  real  fault  lay  with  the  English  sovereign, 
who  had  carelessly  given  inexact  boundaries  to  his  various  land 
grants. 

Mason's  venture  was  chiefly  a  commercial  one.  He  had  dis 
covered  excellent  fishing  grounds  off  the  coast,  and  he  saw  that 
the  fur  trade  of  the  interior  had  great  possibilities. 
A  settlement  made  at  Dover  in  1626  was  the  first  to 
be  permanent.  Another  was  made  on  the  "  Straw 
berry  Bank  "  of  the  Piscataqua  in  1631,  which  was  the  beginning 
of  Portsmouth.  Some  of  the  followers  of  Anne  Hutchinson  estab 
lished  the  settlements  which  became  Exeter  and  Hampton. 

These  settlements  had  a  certain  influence  on  the  government 
of  Massachusetts.  The  people  were  few  in  number  and  could 
not  well  protect  themselves  against  hostile  Indians,  union  with 
and  in  1641  they  sought  to  be  united  with  Massachu-  Massachu 
setts.  Many  of  the  New  Hampshire  settlers  were  not  J 
of  the  same  church  as  the  Massachusetts  Puritans,  and  they 
feared  that,  for  this  reason,  they  would  have  no  political  rights  if 
united  with  Massachusetts.  They  would  not  consent  to  the  union 
unless  they  should  have  the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office.  The 
clergymen  and  strict  Puritan  leaders  of  Massachusetts  did  not 
at  all  like  this  idea,  but  they  did  not  dare  oppose  it,  because 
of  the  opposition  that  had  grown  up  against  them  in  England. 
Consequently  the  petition  for  the  union  of  New  Hampshire  with 
Massachusetts  was  granted  in  1641.  This  proved  an  important 
step  in  bringing  about  much  greater  political  and  social  freedom 
than  had  existed  in  Massachusetts  before  the  union.  In  1679  the 


80  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

king  made  New  Hampshire  a  separate  royal  province.  Nine 
years  later  it  was  reunited  to  Massachusetts,  but  in  1(591  it  was 
again  separated  and  became  a  royal  province. 

One  of  the  chief  events  in   the   history  of  New  Hampshire 
was   the  settlement  of   Londonderry.      In   1719  more  than  one 

hundred  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian  families  came  from 
industry1       Londonderry,  Ireland.     They  settled  in  various  parts 

of  New  Hampshire,  but  most  of  them  formed  a  settle 
ment  in  the  Merrimac  Valley,  which  they  named  Londonderry. 


From  an  engraving  of  1783. 

LINEN  MAKING  —  SPINNING,  REELING,  AND  BOILING  YARN. 

They  had  been  linen  weavers  in  the  old  country,  and  they  quickly 
began  in  America  the  practice  of  the  art  which,  when  cotton  fiber 
took  the  place  of  linen,  was  to  make  the  United  States  one  of 
the  world's  centers  of  the  textile  industry. 

In  1715  New  Hampshire  had  a  population  of  a  little  more 
Growth  of  tnar>  ten  thousand  people,  of  whom  about  two  hun- 
the  colony  dred  were  negro  slaves.  The  fisheries,  fur  trade,  and 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIES  81 

lumber  products  had  readied  a  value  of  about  thirty  thousand 
pounds  a  year. 

Maine. — As  early  as  1607  Sir  George  Popham  attempted  to 
establish  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  River,  but 
the  extreme  cold  of  the  New  England  winter,  together  with 
the  mismanagement  of  business  affairs,  was  more  than  the  colo 
nists  could  bear,  and  the  settlement  was  abandoned.  A  settle 
ment  was  made  at  Pemaquid  Point  in  1625  ;  Saco  was  founded  in 
1630,  and  Biddeford  two  years  later. 

The  boundary  between  Maine  and  Massachusetts  was  in 
dispute,  and  the  latter  claimed  all  the  habitable  parts  of 
the  territory  in  spite  of  the  patent  held  by  Gorges.1  When 
finally  King  Charles  II  sought  to  purchase  the  claim  from  the 
heirs  of  Gorges  in  order  to  settle  the  trouble,  Massachusetts 
secretly  bought  the  title  and  rights  to  the  territory  for  £1250. 
The  transaction,  although  strictly  legal,  was  a  piece  of  sharp 
practice,  and  the  king  never  forgave  Massachusetts  for  it. 

Maine  remained  a  part  of  Massachusetts  until  after  the  War 
of  the  Revolution.  It  did  not  become  a  state  until  1820. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  CONFEDERACY 

Union  of  the  New  England  Colonies.  1643.  —  Although  the  colo 
nies  of  New  England  had  much  in  common,  there  was  no  bond  of 
union  among  them.  They  were  isolated  from  the  mother  country, 
and  no  one  of  them  had  any  adequate  means  of  protection.  A 
person  who  had  offended  the  law  of  one  colony  might  find  perfect 
safety  in  another ;  of  this  there  were  many  vexatious  instances. 
A  great  deal  of  the  trouble  concerned  runaway  slaves,  for  there 
was  no  way  by  which  a  slave  could  be  compelled  to  return  to 
his  owner  if  he  could  escape  to  another  colony. 

1  According  to  the  terms,  the  Massachusetts  boundary  lay  three  miles  north  of 
the  Merrimac  River.  At  that  time  it  was  thought  that  the  line  of  the  river 
extended  ahout  east  and  west,  and  so  there  was  no  dispute  for  several  years. 
In  its  upper  course,  however,  the  line  of  the  river  is  nearly  north  and  south,  and 
when  this  became  known,  the  people  of  Massachusetts  claimed  all  the  territory 
as  far  north  as  the  head  of  the  river — an  area  extending  to  the  White  Moun 
tains.  Although  this  was  not  the  intent,  jt  was  the  strict  letter  of  the  grant. 


82  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

There  were  also  grave  dangers  from  three  sources.  The 
Indians  were  becoming  more  troublesome  than  ever  before ;  the 
French  were  acquiring  territory  on  both  the  north  and  the 
west;  and  the  Dutch  were  threatening  on  the  south.  As  a 
result,  the  colonies  did  what  colonies  have  done  ever  since  such 
institutions  existed:  they  agreed  to  form  a  confederation.  Each 
colony  preserved  its  independence,  but  they  were  united  for 
purposes  of  offense  or  defense.  Ehode  Island  and  Maine  were 
not  permitted  to  join  the  confederation,  because  the  former 
permitted  freedom  of  worship  and  the  latter  observed  the 
ritual  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  New  England  confed 
eracy  was  therefore  restricted  to  Massachusetts  Bay,  Plymouth, 
New  Haven,  and  Connecticut.  It  ceased  to  exist  about  1684. 

SUMMARY 

Dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England  went  to  Holland,  and  eleven 
years  later,  in  1620,  they  sailed  for  America  in  the  Mayflower,  and 
formed  the  Plymouth  colony. 

They  signed  a  written  agreement  by  which  to  govern  themselves. 
The  town  meeting  was  the  assembly  in  which  they  made  their  laws. 

Puritans  driven  from  England  founded  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony 
and  established  a  theocratic  form  of  government.  Only  church  mem 
bers  could  vote  and  take  part  in  the  town  meeting.  Salem  was  founded 
in  1629  by  John  Endicott;  Boston  in  1630  by  John  Winthrop. 

Public  schools  were  established  almost  from  the  first. 

The  charter  of  the  Massachusetts  colonies  was  annulled  by  Charles  II 
in  1684,  on  the  charge  of  usurping  royal  powers. 

Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  and  Maine  were  united  in.  a  single  royal 
province  by  the  charter  of  1692,  which  remained  in  force  until  the 
Revolution. 

Rhode  Island  was  founded  by  Roger  Williams,  who  was  obliged  to  flee 
from  Massachusetts  because  of  his  religious  views.  A  settlement  was 
founded  in  1636  at  Providence,  which  was  open  to  all  religious  creeds. 

Williams  procured  a  charter  in  1644.  Rhode  Island  never  became  a 
royal  province. 

Connecticut  was  claimed  by  both  the  Dutch  and  the  English.  The 
English  established  military  posts' or  forts  at  Windsor  and  at  Saybrook, 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES  83 

Several  settlements  were  formed  in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  a  Puritan 
colony  was  founded  at  New  Haven  in  1638. 

The  Connecticut  colonies  were  united  by  a  charter  given  under 
Charles  II.  Connecticut  did  not  become  a  royal  province. 

The  territory  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  was  granted  to  Sir 
Ferdinando  Gorges  and  Captain  Mason,  who  divided  the  land. 

For  a  time  the  New  Hampshire  settlements  were  united  to  Massa 
chusetts.  New  Hampshire  became  a  royal  province  in  1679. 

The  authorities  of  Massachusetts  bought  the  title  to  Maine  from  the 
heirs  of  Gorges,  and  it  remained  a  part  of  Massachusetts  until  1820. 

A  confederation  of  the  New  England  colonies,  Rhode  Island  and 
Maine  excepted,  was  formed  in  1643  for  the  purpose  of  defense. 


COLLATERAL   READING 

Beginnings  of  New  England  —  Fiske.  The  Puritan  Exodus,  Chapter  II ; 
the  New  England  Confederacy,  Chapter  IV. 

New  France  and  New  England —  Fiske.     Chapter  VI. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.  Shipbuilding  in  Massachu 
setts,  Vol.  I,  280;  town  meetings,  Vol.  I,  285;  slavery,  Vol.  I,  293;  free 
schools,  Vol.  I,  315 ;  navigation  acts,  Vol.  I,  346.  For  life  of  Roger 
Williams  consult  table  of  contents,  Vol.  I. 

The  Emancipation  of  Massachusetts  —  Adams.  The  Scire  Facias, 
Chapter  V. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE   COLONISTS   AND   THE  INDIANS 

The  Indian  and  the  White  Man.  —  It  is  not  strange  that  trouble 
should  frequently  occur  between  the  Indians  and  the  colonists.1 
Practically  there  was  nothing  in  common  between  them.  The 
New  England  colonist  for  many  years  was  bent  on  converting  the 
Indian  to  Christianity  —  even  insisting  on  his  learning  the  cate- 
chisrn ;  the  Virginia  planter  was  equally  bent  on  forcing  him  to 
work  in  the  tobacco  fields.  The  Indian,  for  his  part,  had  an  ill- 
concealed  contempt  for  the  civilization  of  the  white  man.  He 
cared  nothing  for  his  virtues,  but  he  was  an  apt  pupil  in  acquiring 
his  vices. 

The  Acquisition  of  Land.  —  Foremost  among  the  local  troubles 
between  the  two  was  the  acquisition  of  land  by  the  colonists. 
When,  for  instance,  Manhattan  Island  was  purchased  for  the 
sum  of  twenty-four  dollars,  the  transaction  must  be  regarded 

1  The  following  are  the  main  tribes  with  which  the  colonists  came  in  contact,  and 
their  location :  — 

ALGONQUIANS  IROQUOIANS 

Delawares,  Middle  Colonies  Oneidas 

Pequots,  New  England  Senecas 

Mohegans,  New  York  and  New  England  Cayugas          New  York 

Wampaiioags,  Massachusetts  Onondagas 

Narragansetts,  New  England  Mohawks 

Adirondacks,  New  York  Tuscaroras,  North  Carolina 

SIOUAN  MUSKHOGEANS 

Catawbas  1  Seminoles    ] 

Tutelos  Creeks  South 

Woccons    j  ^tlant  Chocktaws  -  Atlantic 

Biloxis       J  C  Chicasas       |  Coast 

Yamassees 
84 


THE  COLONISTS  AND    THE  INDIANS 


85 


as  questionable  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Indians  received 
blankets  and  articles  that  they  needed.  It  is  comparable  with 
a  case  in  which  a  sharper  persuades  a  six-year-old  boy  to  sell 
his  new  overcoat  for  a  tin  whistle.  William  Penn  in  Penn 
sylvania  and  Sir  William  Johnson  in  New  York  paid  the 
Indians  good,  honest  prices  for  the  lands  they  obtained,  and  as 


THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  EASTERN  INDIAN  TRIBES. 

a  result  there  was  little  or  no  trouble.  The  West  India  Com 
pany  required  the  purchasers  of  its  lands  to  settle  also  with 
the  Indians;  as  a  rule,  however,  the  white  man  got  the  best  of 
the  bargain.  In  the  New  England  colonies,  too,  the  authorities 
became  very  strict  about  such  purchases,  and  the  courts  would 
not  permit  a  sale  that  gave  to  the  Indian  less  than  the  proper 
value  of  his  property. 


86 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


In  all  the  colonies,  however,  the  Indians  saw  the  ownership  in 
their  lands  slipping  away  little  by  little,  and  they  had  nothing  to 
show  for  the  transaction.  The  lands  bartered  away  were  their 
hunting  grounds,  upon  which  they  must  depend  for  food,  and 
without  these  lands  they  must  be  slowly  crushed  between  Indian 
foes  beyond  the  frontier,  on  the  one  side,  and  white  foes,  on  the 
other.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  a  feeling  of  reserit- 


From  an  old  engraving. 

AN  ATTACK  ON  AN  INDIAN  PALISADED  FORT. 

ment  should  have  grown  into  the  Indian  mind,  nor  is  it  sur 
prising  that  this  feeling  gave  place  to  one  of  intense  hatred.  It 
needed  only  an  exciting  cause  to  start  the  tribes  on  the  war 
path. 

Why  the  Indians  were  allowed  to  buy  Firearms.  —  It  would  seem 
foolish  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  to  supply  the  Indians  with 
firearms  j  yet  this  is  exactly  what  they  did.  Fur  trading  was  a 


THE  COLONISTS  AND    THE  INDIANS  87 

most  profitable  employment,  and  all  who  could  do  so  engaged  in 
it  either  secretly  or  openly.  But  in  getting  pelts  the  white  man 
was  no  match  for  the  Indian.  Inasmuch  as  the  latter  got  far  more 
pelts  with  the  flintlock  than  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  the  fur- 
trading  companies  supplied  their  trappers  and  hunters  with  fire 
arms  and  powder ;  and  as  the  Indians  to  whom  these  weapons 
were  given  lived  far  from  the  settlements,  the  colonists  made  no 
great  objection.  Indians  living  near  the  settlements,  however, 
were  not  permitted  to  have  firearms ;  nevertheless,  they  usually 
managed  to  get  possession  of  the  weapons. 

The  Pequot  War.  1637.  —  About  the  time  when  the  settlements 
in  Connecticut  were  becoming  prosperous,  the  Pequot  Indians 
began  to  resent  the  intrusion  of  the  settlers.  Years  before  that 
time  the  Pequots  had  been  driven  by  the  Mohawks  across  the 
Hudson  River  from  the  west.  With  the  coming  of  so  many 
white  people  they  realized  that  they  were  about  to  be  forced 
back  again  toward  the  Mohawk  country.  As  a  result,  they  began 
to  harass  the  English  settlers  by  burning  their  buildings  and 
setting  fire  to  the  crops  and  the  timber  about  the  settlements. 
Soon  they  began  to  kill  every  white  man  whom  they  might  am 
bush.  There  was  scarcely  a  village  that  did  not  suffer,  and 
finally  the  Connecticut  people  appealed  to  Massachusetts  for  aid. 

Captain  Mason  gathered  a  company  of  about  one  hundred 
men,  together  with  some  friendly  Indians.  He  advanced  to  the 
Pequot  village  near  the  site  of  Stonington,  Connecticut  (1637). 
The  troops  and  allies  reached  the  strongly  palisaded  village 
just  before  daybreak  and  lost  no  time  in  making  the  attack. 
The  Pequots  were  not  only  surprised,  but  were  panic-stricken. 
After  several  heavy  volleys  which  killed  many,  Mason's  men 
threw  into  the  village  lighted  torches  which  set  the  wickiups 
afire.  When  the  fight  was  over,  out  of  the  seven  hundred 
Pequots  five  were  alive. 

Some  wholesome  lessons  were  learned  from  the  Pequot  uprising, 
not  the  least  of  which  was  a  more  intelligent  under 
standing  of  the  Indian  character.     The  people  of  the   fhees^  of 
New  England  colonies  had  labored  hard  to  convert 
the  Indian  to  Christianity,  to  teach  him  to  read,  and  to  persuade 


88  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

him  to  wear  clothing  of  European  fashion.  The  influence  of  the 
white  man  affected  only  the  few  Indians  who  lived  about  the 
towns,  mainly  the  more  shiftless  and  idle  ones.  The  people 
were  rudely  awakened  to  the  fact  that  underneath  the  coat  of 
London  cut  there  beat  a  heart  that  was  thoroughly  Indian. 
Moreover,  they  learned  that  the  ability  to  repeat  the  catechism 
did  not  root  out  the  desire  for  the  scalping  party. 

After  that  there  was  an  honest  effort  to  give  the  Indians  the 
full  protection  of  the  laws  of  the  colony,  and  the  law  was  equally 
prompt  to  punish  him  if  he  did  not  behave  himself.  Whenever 


From  the  painting  by  GErtel. 

JOHN  ELIOT  PREACHING  TO  THE  INDIANS. 

an  Indian  was  to  be  tried  for  a  grave  crime,  it  became  the  custom 
to  summon  a  number  of  Indians  on  the  jury  that  tried  him. 
Comparatively  few  Indians  remained  about  the  settlements.  The 
seven  or  eight  thousand  Indians  outside  the  vicinity  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay  —  Narragansetts,  Nipmucks,  Wampanoags  (or  Poka- 
nokets),  and  Mohegans  —  were  left  pretty  much  to  themselves. 

The  Uprising  of  the  Algonquians.  1643. —  The  policy  of  Governor 
Kieffc  in  New  Netherland  was  very  exasperating  to  the  Indians 
of  the  Middle  colonies.  He  took  no  decisive  measures  to  prevent 
the  sale  of  liquor  to  them,  but  he  punished  without  mercy  or 
judgment  any  crime  committed  by  a  drunken  Indian.  He  also 
attempted  to  tax  the  Indians  for  the  protection  which,  he  asserted. 


THE   COLONISTS  AND   THE  INDIANS  89 

the  fort  at  New  Amsterdam  gave  them.  In  1643  a  band  of 
Mohawks  came  down  the  Hudson  Valley,  ostensibly  collecting 
their  usual  tribute,  but  really  killing  about  every  Algonquian 
Indian  in  sight.  In  mortal  terror,  the  Algonquian  tribes  sought 
the  protection  which  they  had  the  right  to  expect  of  Governor 
Kieft.  Instead  of  protecting  them,  however,  Kieft's  soldiers 
fell  upon  them  at  night  and  massacred  nearly  one  hundred  and 
forty.  It  was  an  atrocious  and  treacherous  act,  and  the  imme 
diate  effects  were  most  appalling.  Nearly  all  of  the  Algon 
quian  tribes  in  the  vicinity  immediately  started  on  the  warpath, 
killing  the  people  of  the  small  settlements  for  twenty  miles 
around.  Nothing  but  smoking  ruins  was  left  of  a  score  of 
beautiful  villages.1 

Fortunately  at  this  time  Captain  John  Underhill,  a  famous 
Indian  tighter,  came  to  New  Netherlands  The  Indxano,  in  the 
meantime,  had  fortified  themselves  seven  hundred  strong  in  a 
palisaded  village  near  where  Stamford,  Connecticut,  now  is. 
Underhill  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  attacked  the  Indian 
stronghold  at  midnight,  and  at  dawn  there  were  eight  warriors 
left  alive.  This  decisive  fight  put  an  end  to  Indian  warfare  in 
the  lower  Hudson  Valley. 

King  Philip's  War.  1670-1675.  —  In  the  peace  of  nearly  forty 
years  that  followed  the  Pequot  War  great  prosperity  came  to  New 
England.  The  population  of  twenty-five  thousand  (1645)  had 
increased  very  materially,  and  the  forty  or  more  villages  had 
more  than  doubled  in  number.  In  the  fertile  valleys  of  the 
western  part  were  thriving  towns  and  rich  farms,  and  there 
was  a  considerable  trade  with  the  Indians.  Of  these  a  genera 
tion  had  grown  up  who  could  not  remember  the  fate  of  the 
Pequots. 

So  long  as  Massasoit,  the  chief  of  the  Wampanoags,  was  alive, 
he  was  steadfast  in  his  loyalty  to  the  colonists.  In  return  he 

1  There  were  English  settlements  at  the  present  sites  of  Throggs  Neck,  Hack- 
ensack,  Corlears  Hook,  and  the  Bowery.    The  latter,  now  a  street  with  six  rail 
way  tracks,  was  then  a  country  lane  leading  to  the  farms  of  the  thrifty  Dutch 
settlers.      All  these  settlements  were  destroyed.      It  was  during  this  massacre 
that  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson  and  most  of  her  family  were  slain. 

2  Captain  Underhill  had  taken  part  in  the  Pequot  War. 


90 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


both  demanded  and  received  just  treatment  from  them.     His  sons, 

however,   brooded   over   the   loss  of  the  tribal  lands  until  they 

possessed   a   very  unfriendly    feeling    for   the   white 

people.     In  1662  the  second  son,  best  known  as  King 

Philip,  became  chief  of  the  tribe.     He  was  a  cautious  and  wily 

leader,  who  saw  clearly  that  he  must  take  no  risks  ;  nevertheless, 

he  shared  an  opinion  which  had  become  general  among  the  Indians 

of  all  tribes,  that,  unless  they 
resisted  the  encroachment  of  the 
whites  upon  their  lands,  they 
were  doomed. 

The  incentive  for  a  general 
uprising  came  in  1670;  almost 
simultaneously  eight  villages 
were  destroyed  and  most  of  the 
captives  were  horribly  tortured. 
Hostile  war  parties  extended 
their  atrocities  in  every  direction. 
Troops  were  at  once  put  into  the 
field,  but  several  detachments 
were  attacked  from  ambush  and 
massacred.  A  company  sent  to 
guard  the  farmers  who  were 
securing  the  grain  stored  at  Deer- 

fi^d     were     killed. 

-r,      „  ,, 

Deerheld     was    de- 

stroyed,  and  Spring- 
field    also   was    set 

KING  PHILIP,"  AND  HIS  MARK  OR      upon  and  the  greater 
SIGNATURE.  part  of  it  was  burned. 

By  this  time  (1675)  the  Narragansetts  had  made  up  their  minds 
to  join  Philip.  Governor  Winslow  of  Massachusetts,  however, 
Destruction  at  once  called  out  a  thousand  troops  and  started  for 
of  the  the  Narragansett  fort  near  South  Kingston.  He  used 

Indians          tne  game  pjan  of   attac^  tnat  had  succeeded  in  the 

Pequot  War.     The  wickiups  were  fired  by  torches  thrown  among 
them,  and  a  constant  fire   of  musketry   was   kept   up.     When 


METACOMA, 


THE  COLONISTS  AND    THE  INDIANS  91 

the  sun  went  down  about  a  thousand  Narragansetts  had  been 
slain.  The  few  hundred  who  escaped  were  run  to  bay  in  small 
bands  during  the  following  spring  and  most  of  them  were  shot 
down. 

The  Nipmucks  were  still  active,  however,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1675  they  attacked  nearly  every  small  village  in  eastern  Massa 
chusetts  and  Khode  Island.  They  were  pursued  day  and  night l 
until  most  of  them  were  slain.  Thus  closed  the  most  dreadful 
Indian  war  of  colonial  times.  The  three  tribes  —  Wampanoags, 
Narragansetts,  and  Nipmucks — were  well-nigh  exterminated.  The 
Mohegans  were  about  the  only  Indians  remaining  in  New  England, 
and  they  were  friendly  to  the  colonists.  Forty  of  the  colonial 
villages  had  been  damaged  or  destroyed,  and  one  in  twenty  of 
the  population  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians.  After  King 
Philip's  War  the  Indian  no  longer  played  a  part  in  New  England 
history. 

Uprisings  in  the  Southern  Colonies.  —  In  the  early  years  of  Vir 
ginia  (1622)  the  colony  suffered  from  an  Indian  attack,  in  which 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  white  settlers  were 
killed.  Again  in  1644  there  was  an  Indian  uprising  Tuscaroras 
which  cost  the  colony  as  many  more  lives.  But  from 
that  time  the  Southern  colonies  were  comparatively  free  from 
Indian  troubles.  In  1711,  however,  the  Tuscaroras,  an  Iroquoian 
tribe,  murdered  about  two  hundred  settlers  living  in  the  vicinity 
of  New  Berne,  North  Carolina.  For  this,  a  swift  vengeance  fol 
lowed.  Colonel  John  Barnwell  gathered  a  force  of  white  men 
and  friendly  Indians,  marched  nearly  three  hundred  miles,  fell 
upon  the  Tuscaroras,  and  killed  about  four  hundred.  Hardly 
was  Barnwell  out  of  sight  when  the  Indians  began  their  deadly 
work  again.  So  (1713)  Colonel  James  Moore  gathered  over  one 
thousand  men,  attacked  the  palisaded  fort  of  the  tribe,  and 
killed  the  greater  part  of  its  members.  The  remnant  of  the  Tus 
caroras  then  went  to  New  York  and  joined  the  Iroquois  Con 
federacy. 

1  They  were  not  allowed  to  rest  long  enough  to  concentrate  at  any  one  point. 
This  policy  has  been  pursued  in  the  Indian  outbreaks  of  recent  times,  both  by 
General  Crooks  and  General  Miles, 


92  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Yamassees,  a  Muskhogean  tribe,  had  been  the  steadfast 

friends  of   the   English   of  the   Southern   colonies.     They  were 

accustomed  to  make  occasional  raids  into  the  Spanish 

Yamassees     c°l°ny  °^   Florida,  capturing  whom   the}'  could   and 

burning  their  prisoners  alive.     The  English  colonists 

did  not  object  to  these  invasions,  but  it  was  their  custom  to  give  a 

ransom  to  the  Indians  for  the  lives  of  the  unfortunate  prisoners, 

and  the  latter  were  surrendered  to  the  Spanish  on  payment  of  the 

ransom  money. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Spanish  authori 
ties  began  a  systematic  effort  to  incite  the  Yamassees  to  massacre 
the  frontier  settlers  of  the  Southern  colonies.  They  succeeded 
only  too  well.  In  1715  the  Yamassees,  together  with  some  of 
the  Catawbas  and  Creeks,  took  the  warpath  and  surprised  one 
settlement  after  another  all  along  the  frontier.  Nearly  four 
hundred  white  people  were  killed.  Charles  Craven,  governor 
of  South  Carolina,  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  when  his 
troops  had  finished  the  campaign  there  were  but  few  hostile 
Indians  left.  The  small  remnant  of  the  powerful  Yamassee  tribe 
fled  to  Florida. 

Pontiac's  Conspiracy.  1763.  —  The  last  uprising  of  Indians  dur 
ing  colonial  times  occurred  just  after  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  the  conquest  by  which  the  French  were  driven  from  North 
America.  The  defeat  and  expulsion  of  the  French  brought  the 
Indians  to  realize  the  fact  —  as  they  had  realized  it  immediately 
before  King  Philip's  War  —  that  the  English  were  fast  becoming 
their  masters.  As  a  result,  there  was  a  general  uprising  of  the 
tribes  all  along  the  western  frontier.  The  leadership  fell  to 
Pontiac,  a  chief  of  the  Ottawas.  In  1763  concerted  attacks  were 
made  against  most  of  the  outposts  which  the  English  had  wrested 
from  the  French.  Some  of  these  were  captured,  but  were  re 
taken.  Detroit  was  besieged  by  Indians  led  by  Pontiac,  but  they 
were  finally  defeated  by  Colonel  Bradstreet.  The  uprising  was 
quickly  subdued.1 

1  Pontiac  retreated  to  an  Indian  village  in  Illinois,  opposite  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
where  he  shortly  afterward  died. 


THE  COLONISTS  AND    THE  INDIANS  93 


SUMMARY 

Most  of  the  Indian  wars  resulted  from  the  encroachment  of  the  white 
people  on  Indian  lands.  As  settlements  increased,  the  Indians  of  the 
frontier  were  driven  westward  into  contact  with  other  tribes  who  were 
their  enemies.  Outbreaks,  therefore,  were  inevitable. 

The  Algonquian  uprising  occurred  in  New  Netherland;  the  Peqtiot 
and  King  Philip's  wars  in  New  England.  The  warring  tribes  were 
nearly  exterminated. 

The  uprisings  of  the  Tuscaroras  and  the  Yamassees  occurred  in  the 
Southern  colonies. 

Pontiac's  conspiracy,  in  1763,  was  the  last  general  Indian  war. 


COLLATERAL   READING 

Discovery  of  America  —  Fiske.     Chapter  I. 
Beginnings  of  New  England  —  Fiske.     Chapters  III,  V. 
Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies  —  Fiske.     Chapter  IX. 
Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbors  —  Fiske.     Vol.  I,  189  ;  Vol.  II,  303,  305. 
Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  —  Parkman.     Chapter  I. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  II,  Chapter  V;  Vol.  Ill, 
Chapter  III. 

Old  Times  in  the  Colonies  —  Coffin.     (For  popular  reading.) 


CHAPTER   VII 

A  CENTURY  OF   COLONIAL  LIFE 

A  Survey  of  the  Field. — At-  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
New  England  confederacy  (1643),  New  York  was  still  a  Dutch 
settlement  bearing  the  name  of  New  Netherlarid.  Virginia, 
Maryland,  New  Netherland,  and  the  New  England  colonies  were 
the  chief  centers  of  population.  The  period  of  the  next  hundred 
years  was  marked  by  a  rapid  increase  of  population,  the  conquest 
of  the  Dutch  colonies  by  the  English,  and  the  settlement  of  Penn 
sylvania,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia.  It  is  interesting  to  study 
the  conditions  of  life  in  the  colonies  at  this  period. 

Conditions  of  Social  Life.  —  The  social  and  political  features  of 
life  in  Virginia  were  much  the  same  as  those  of  England.  The 
rich  plantation  owner  with  his  numerous  servants  and  laborers 
resembled  in  some  respects  the  great  lords  with  their  dependents. 
For  the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  the  plan  of  organization  was  un 
doubtedly  the  best  that  could  be  followed.  It  was  not  the  sort 
of  organization  out  of  which  a  true  democracy  could  grow,  yet 
as  a  business  affair  the  Virginia  plan  was  eminently  success 
ful.  The  effects  of  this  plan  of  government  are  apparent  even 
to-day. 

Like  Virginia,  the  New  England  colonies  were  thoroughly  Eng 
lish  ;  probably  less  than  one  man  in  a  hundred  came  from  other 
countries.  The  social  life  of  the  New  England  colonists  was 
very  little  different  from  that  of  the  middle  class  in  England, 
and  it  so  remains  to  this  day.  The  political  organization,  how 
ever,  was  vastly  different ;  for,  while  the  Virginians  followed  the 
English  plan  of  government  in  many  respects,  the  people  of  New 

94 


A   CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL  LIFE 


95 


England  broke  away  from  it  altogether.     Almost  from  the  first 
their  government  was  a  democracy. 

As  has  been  noted,  the  geographic  surroundings  were  mainly 
responsible  for  the  differing  political  organizations,  but  the  social 
position  of  the  people  also  had  its  effect.  In  Virginia 
the  landowners  and  the  clergy  ranked  with  the  no 
bility  and  were  people  of  title  and  distinction.  Many 
of  them  had  found  life  in  England  intolerable  after  the  execution 
of  Charles  I  and  the  usurpation  of  Cromwell,  and  they  were 


Social 
distinctions 


A  NEW  ENGLAND  KITCHEN. 

glad  to  make  their  home  in  America.  They  were  the  ruling  class 
in  England;  it  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  they  were  the 
governing  class  of  Virginia. 

In  New  England  the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  —  the  clergy  ex- 
cepted  —  belonged  to  the  middle  class  of  England.  They  were 
thrifty  and  intelligent,  and  consisted  mainly  of  tradesmen,  manu 
facturers,  and  well-to-do  people.  There  were  a  few  families  who 
ranked  among  the  gentry,  that  is,  they  were  owners  of  estates 
and  lands  in  England,  but  they  bore  no  titles  except  that  of 


96  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

"  esquire,"  and  they  were  not  of  noble  lineage  as  were  most  of  the 
Cavaliers  of  the  South.1 

Between  the  various  classes  there  was  very  little  social  inter 
course.  The  wealthy  planter  of  Virginia  or  the  patroon  of  New 
York  was  socially  considered  a  superior  person  to  the  tradesman 
or  the  farmer ;  the  tradesman  and  the  farmer,  too,  were  a  class 
that  looked  down  upon  the  wage  laborer.  Even  in  New  England 
the  clergy  and  the  gentry  were  always  treated  with  a  distinction 
that  was  not  accorded  to  the  common  people.2 

There  were  fewer  redemptioners  and  slaves  in  the  New  England 
colonies  than  in  the  South  and  the  Middle  colonies,  mainly  be 
cause  there  were  no  large  plantations.  On  the  rugged 
New  England  plateau  the  farms  were  necessarily  small ; 
and  the  family  of  the  farmer,  reenforced  by  a  single  "  hired  man," 
furnished  all  the  help  required.  In  New  York  the  patroon  leased 
his  manor  to  tenants  who,  in  fact,  were  but  little  better  than  in 
dentured  servants,  arid  usually  these  were  not  many  in  number. 
The  Virginia  planter,  on  the  contrary,  might  require  more  than 
one  hundred  workmen  on  his  plantation ;  hence  the  great  majority 
of  indentured  servants  and  slaves  were  in  the  South. 

The  distribution  of  wealth  was  an  important  feature  in  social 

life.     Virginia  was  the  wealthiest  of  all   the  colonies,  but  the 

wealth  was  possessed  by  a  few  people.     There  was  a 

fairly  well-to-do  middle  class  of  tradesmen  and  small 

farmers,  but  the  great  bulk  of  the  population,  consisting  of  wage 

laborers  and  redemptioners,  was  poor.     In  New  York,  likewise. 

the  distribution  of  wealth  was  uneven.     The  patroons  and  the 

merchants,  for  the  greater  part,  were  well-to-do  or  rich ;  the  tenants 

and  wage  earners  were  not. 

In  the  New  England  colonies  the  wealth  was  much  more  evenly 

1  Inasmuch  as  the  Church  and  the  State  for  a  time  were  officially  under  one  con 
trol,  the  clergy  held  an  official  as  well  as  a  spiritual  leadership.    In  New  England, 
when  grave  questions  were  considered,  the  clergy  were  very  frequently  consulted 
and  their  judgment  was  apt  to  be  final. 

2  In  practically  all  the   colonies  there  was    a   class   that  might  he  termed 
"shoddy  "  in  character.     This  was  due  very  largely  to  illicit  fur  trading,  to  trad 
ing  with  the  pirate  ships  that  were  accustomed  to  visit  certain  points,  and  to  a 
kind  of  trade  with  the  Indians  that  would  not  bear  a  very  close  scrutiny. 


A    CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL  LIFE  97 

distributed.  There  were  few  rich  people;  on  the  other  hand, 
there  were  few  who  were  very  poor.  The  rigorous  climate  forced 
them  to  be  industrious ;  the  shiftless  returned  to  England  and  the 
weaklings  died.  It  was  a  survival  of  the  strongest  physically,  it 
was  a  survival  of  the  fittest  intellectually,  for  the  stern  conditions 
under  which  the  people  lived  developed  the  thoughtfulness  and 
skill  necessary  to  overcome  obstacles.  Social  lines  were  more 
quickly  broken  down  in  New  England  than  elsewhere,  partly 
because  of  the  town  meeting  and  partly  because  there  were  com 
paratively  few  people  of  great  wealth. 

Occupations  and  Business  Enterprises.  —  In  the  Southern  colo 
nies,  as  has  been  noted,  the  cultivation  of  the  tobacco  plant  was 
the  chief  industry.  The  tobacco  plantations  were 
generally  near  the  rivers.  The  smallest  was  many 
times  the  size  of  a  New  England  farm ;  the  largest 
was  several  square  miles  in  extent.  Not  all  the  land  was  fit 
for  tobacco  planting.  The  plantations  were  apt  to  be  far  apart, 
and  each  was  a  little  center 
of  population  by  itself.  As 
a  result  of  these  conditions, 
there  were  practically  no  cities 
and  towns  of  any  importance  in 
the  South  until  the  colonies  were 
more  than  half  a  century  old.1 

The  people  of  the  Southern 
colonies  built  few  roads,  and  ROLLING  TOBACCO  TO  THE  WHARF. 
even  the  few  roads  which  they  built  were  not  very  good.  They 
saw  no  need  for  good  roads.  There  were  many  navigable  streams 
leading  to  the  ocean,  and  along  these  the  plantations  were  estab 
lished.  The  tobacco  was  packed  in  hogsheads,  which  were 
rolled  along  to  the  nearest  ship  landing  by  horse  power.2  As 

1  Various  colonial  legislatures  tried  to  create  towns  and  seaports  by  making 
laws  creating  them,  and  one  may  still  find  on  a  map  of  Virginia  such  names  as 
Charles  City  and  James  City,  where  towns  never  existed.    No  towns  came  into 
existence  in  Virginia  until  years  afterward.    Nowadays  people  understand  that 
cities  and  towns  are  the  result  of  commerce  and  not  of  statutory  law. 

2  To  each  head  of  the  hogshead  a  trunnion  was  fastened,  to  which  a  wagon 
tongue,  or  a  pair  of  shafts,  could  be  attached. 


98  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

the  population  increased  and  plantations  were  extended  inland,  it 
became  more  difficult  to  ship  the  tobacco.  In  many  instances  it 
"cost  almost  as  much,  if  not  more,  to  get  the  tobacco  from  the 
plantation  to  the  wharf  as  from  the  latter  to  the  London  market. 
With  the  profit  of  the  tobacco  crop  which,  the  planter  sold  to 
English  merchants,  he  not  only  paid  for  the  clothing,  household 
supplies,  and  metal  wares  used,  but  he  also  had  enough  left  to 
make  him  rich  in  a  few  years.  Practically  nothing  was  manu 
factured  in  the  Southern  colonies;  even  much  of  the  lumber 
used  in  buildings  was  made  from  logs  sent  to  England  and  there 
sawed  into  boards  to  be  sent  back  to  Virginia. 


A  COLONIAL  HOUSE  AT  GEBMANTOWN,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

South  Carolina  was  the  only  Southern  colony  in  which  tobacco 
was  not  a  staple  crop ;  in  that  colony  rice  was  the  chief  article 
of  export.  The  general  conditions,  however,  were  like  those  of 
Virginia. 

New  York  was  the  only  colony  that  was  not  essentially  Eng 
lish.  The  Dutch  colonists  were  not  allowed  to  trade  in  furs  and 

pelts,  as  that  privilege  was  reserved  for  the  West  India 
NewVork      Company.      They   were  not   allowed    to   manufacture 

anything  that  could  be  procured  in  Holland ;  even  the 
bricks  for  their  buildings  were  imported.     They  were  compelled 


A    CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL   LIFE  99 

to  trade  with  the  mother  country,  and  the  West  India  Company 
managed  to  secure  most  of  the  profits  of  the  trade.  After  the 
English  occupation  many  of  the  trade  restrictions  were  practically 
removed.  A  brisk  trade  in  furs,  lumber,  flour,  and  other  food 
stuff  grew  up. 

When  English  immigrants  had  established  themselves  in  New 
Jersey,  and  colonies  of  Friends,  Scotch-Irish,  and  Germans  had 
pretty  well  covered  the  river  valleys  of  Pennsylvania,  Farmin  in 
farming  became  the  chief  industry  of  the  -Middle  colo-  the  Middle 
nies.  The  land  was  rich  and  the  crops  were  bountiful,  colonies 
The  farms  were  the  best  in  the  world.  The  exports  of  flour,  pro 
visions,  and  lumber  made  the  people  of  these  thrifty  communities 
nearly  as  wealthy  as  the  tobacco  planters  of  the  South.  Most  of 
the  trade  centered  at  Philadelphia,  which  for  many  years  was  the 
foremost  city  of  the  country.  There  were  a  few  iron  smelteries 
and  paper  mills,  although  in  the  main  manufacturing  was 
forbidden. 

The  people  of  the  New  England  colonies  grew  most  of  the  food 
stuff  they  consumed,  but  it  was  very  hard  work.     The  rock-strewn 
surface  and  gravelly  soil  were  ill  adapted  to  farming.     New 
There  wa.s    no   staple   crop   such  as  tobacco,  rice,  or     England: 
wheat ;  about  all  that  they  could  depend  on  were  the     fiarhmi"S> 
scanty  crops  of  maize,  beans,  and  garden  vegetables,     and  ship- 
The   chief    produce    came    from  the  sea.       The    cod     buildins 
fisheries  off  the  Newfoundland  coast  and  the  mackerel  fisheries 
all  along  the  coast  proved  a  great  source  of  wealth.     They  also 
created  a  race  of   sailors   that  had  no  superior.      Shipbuilding 
became  an  important  industry,  and  the  sails  of  the  Yankee  clipper- 
ship,  with  her  raking  masts  and  sharp  cutwater,  were  to  be  seen  in 
nearly  every  foreign  port  under  the  sun.     These  were  much  supe 
rior  to  the  European  vess^s,   and  cost   about   three  fourths  as 
much.     They  were,  therefore,  considerably  in  demand  by  Euro 
pean  shippers.     It  was    no  uncommon   thing  for  a  captain,  on 
reaching  the  West  Indies,  to  sell  ship  and  cargo  outright  at  a 
single  transaction. 

The  uplands,  when  cleared  of   timber,  made  good  pasturage. 
Between  the  fisheries  and  the  grazing,  the  New  England  people 


100  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

supplied  nearly  all  the  West  Indies  with,  salted  beef,  codfish, 
salmon,  and  mackerel ;  they  even  furnished  the  greater  number  of 

horses  and  oxen  used  in  those  islands.  This  trade 
Commerce 

was  the  beginning  of  American  commerce.1  The  im 
ports  to  the  New  England  colonies  were  mainly  cotton  goods 
and  raw  wool  from  England,  and  sugar,  molasses,  and  logwood 
from  the  West  Indies.  The  net  profits  of  the  voyage  were 
brought  back  usually  in  Spanish  coin,  which  was  quite  as  com 
mon  at  times  as  English  money.  The  logwood  was  used  in  dye 
ing  the  cotton  and  wool  fiber ;  the  wool  was  made  into  cloth  in 
the  looms  which  were  found  in  every  household. 

The  Navigation  Laws.  —  From  the  time  that  the  commerce  of 
the  colonies  began  to  be  profitable,  the  English  Parliament  as 
sumed  the  right  to  gain  by  it.  At  first  (1651)  the  navigation 
laws  required  that  merchandise  to  and  from  the  colonies  should 
be  carried  in  English  vessels ;  later  (1660)  it  was  ordered  that  all 
colonial  products  be  sold  in  ports  belonging  to  England.  Next 
(1663)  all  goods  imported  to  the  colonies  must  be  bought  in  Eng 
land  if  English  merchants  could  furnish  them.  The  Parliament 
even  (1673)  forbade  New  England  vessels  from  carrying  any 
imports,  and  levied  a  tariff2  on  all  goods  shipped  from  one  colony 
to  another.  Within  a  few  years  the  laws  were  made  still  more 
oppressive ;  the  colonists  were  forbidden  to  manufacture  such 
articles  as  would  compete  with  English-made  goods,  to  manufac 
ture  for  themselves  anything  which  was  made  in  England,  or  to 
sell  in  foreign  markets  anything  which  English  buyers  might  take. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  laws  were  not  rigidly  enforced  until 
Enforcement  tne  accession  of  George  III  (1760),  and  the  govern- 
of  the  laws  meiit  probably  did  not  intend  that  they  should  be. 

1  One  product  of  the  New  England  colonies  was  unique,  namely,  barrel  staves ; 
probably  more  than  half  the  world's  supply  was  made  in  the  vicinity  of  the  New 
England  ports.    By  far  the  greater  part  of  these  staves  went  to  the  West  Indies 
and  were  used  for  the  barrels  and  hogsheads  in  which  sugar,  molasses,  and  rum 
were  shipped.    The  rum  casks  made  by  the  New  England  cooper  were  the  finest 
in  existence.    The  traffic  in  staves  extended  to  Europe,  and  considerable  quanti 
ties  were  shipped  to  Spain  and  Portugal. 

2  That  is,  a  payment  of  money  was  exacted  by  the  government  on  all  goods 
shipped. 


A    CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL  LIFE  .  101 

The  laws  were  enforced  just  often  enough  to  create  vexation  ; 
they  were  neglected  just  enough  to  breed  contempt  for  them. 

Perhaps  Virginia  and  the  Southern  colonies  suffered  more  than 
the  others  when  the  restrictions  imposed  by  the  Parliament  were 

enforced,  inasmuch  as  the  planters  were  compelled  to 

The  results 
sell  their  crops  to  English  merchants,  who  fixed  the 

price  of  the  tobacco  to  suit  themselves.  The  tobacco  growers, 
having  no  surplus  money  to  spend,  could  not  buy  anything,  and 
this  condition  was  quickly  felt  in  England ;  the  shopkeepers  and 
farmers  could  not  sell  to  customers  who  had  no  money.  As  a 
way  of  getting  income  from  the  colonies,  the  trade  restrictions 
were  a  failure. 

It  is  often  thought  that  England  imposed  unnecessarily  harsh 
commercial  relations  upon  her  American  colonies,  but  this  is 
hardly  true.  Until  George  III  became  king,  she  was  far  more 
lenient  than  were  other  European  states  in  the  treatment  of  their 
dependencies.  The  Dutch  settlers  of  New  Netherland  were  very 
glad  to  exchange  Dutch  for  English  rule,  because  of  the  greater 
commercial  freedom  they  were  to  enjoy.  Except  in  the  matter 
of  trade  regulations,  the  colonies  were  generally  left  to  them 
selves  until  they  became  royal  provinces,  and  even  then  they 
were  not  more  strictly  governed  than  were  the  people  in  the 
mother  country.  As  a  rule,  nearly  every  reasonable  request  was 
granted. 

Forms  of  Colonial  Government.  —  There  were  three  forms  of 
government  in  the  colonies.  To  the  founders  of  some  of  the 

earlier   colonies   charters   were   given,  either   by   the 

,.,  j       4.1       Charter,  pro- 

Crown  or  by  a  mercantile  company  acting  under  the  prietary, 

permission  of   the  Crown.1     These  were   the  charter  and  royal 
colonies.     In  other  cases,  such  as  Pennsylvania,  the  c< 
patent  or  title  to  the  lands  was  given  to  an  individual.     These 
e   the  proprietary  colonies.      In  other  cases,  the   governing 
power  of  the   colony   was   directly  in  the  hands   of  the  king. 
These  were  called  royal  provinces.     In  time  seven  of  the  colonies 

• 

1  Virginia  was  settled  by  a  mercantile  company  having  a  charter  from  the 
Crown.  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  New  Haven 
were  all  charter  colonies  in  the  early  days. 


102 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Governor 
Andros 


became  royal  provinces.  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  refused 
to  surrender  the  charters  which  they  had  received ;  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  and  Maryland  were  governed  under  patents  issued  to 
individuals,  and  not  even  the  king  could  annul  the  title.  The 
other  colonies  —  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  — 
became  royal  provinces.  Of  these,  Massachusetts  forfeited  her 
charter,  and  the  royal  governor  practically  abolished  the  General 
Court.  A  new  charter  was  obtained  in  1692,  which  restored  some 
of  the  privileges  that  the  people  had  enjoyed. 

Of  all  the  royal  governors,  Sir  Edmund  Androfj  stands  out  as 
the  most  interesting  character.  That  he  was  despotic  and  arbi 
trary  there  is  no  doubt.  In  New  York  he  succeeded 
Governor  Dongan,  a  most  excellent  chief  magistrate, 
who  was  every  inch  a  statesman.  He  deposed  Philip 
Carteret,  governor  of  New  Jersey, 
and  seized  the  government  of 
that  colony.  When  the  New 
England  colonies  were  under  his 
rule,  about  the  first  of  his  acts 
was  to  take  forcible  possession 
of  Old  South  Meeting  House  in 
Boston,  turn  the  Puritans  out, 
and  use  it  as  an  Episcopal  church. 
The  opposition  of  the  New  Eng 
land  people  whetted  his  appetite 
for  a  very  strict  government,  and 
he  was  not  slow  to  impose  it. 
So  far  as  trade  was  concerned,  in 
spite  of  his  enforcement  of  the 
oppressive  regulations,  there  was 
great  prosperity.  Andros  was 
finally  ordered  to  England  to  be 
tried  for  misconduct,  but  was 
acquitted  without  trial.  Shortly  afterward  he  was  appointed 
governor  of  Virginia,  and  to  the  surprise  of  all  he  proved  a  very 
popular  magistrate.  His  despotic  ways  were  due  to  his  military 


GOVERNOR  ANDROS. 


A   CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL   LIFE  103 

training,  and  his  unpopularity  arose  largely  from  his  lack  of 
tact.  In  every  respect  he  was  an  honest  watchdog,  serving  most 
faithfully  his  royal  master.1 

The  Beginning  of  Legislative  Assemblies.  —  The  machinery  of 
government  in  the  various  colonies  did  not  differ  much  in  form 
or  in  practice.  In  Massachusetts  the  governor,  his  deputy,  and 
the  board  of  assistants  were  elected  by  a  general  court  composed 
of  the  stockholders  of  the  company.  The  charter  itself  was  a  per 
mit  granted  by  the  English  government.2  The  board  of  assist 
ants  was  supposed  to  be  the  real  working  machinery,  and  all 
went  well  until  it  attempted  to  levy  a  tax  on  the  various 
settlements  for  building  a  small  fort  or  blockhouse  at  The  repre_ 
Newtown.  Then  there  was  a  protest  that  English  sentation  of 
subjects  could  not  be  taxed  without  their  consent.  the  Pe°Ple 
But  there  was  no  legislative  assembly  of  the  people  to  grant 
the  levy ;  in  order  to  meet  the  difficulty,  it  was  agreed  to  create 
a  general  court  consisting  of  two  deputies  from  each  settlement 
to  advise  with  the  board  of  assistants.  At  first  the  deputies 
met  with  the  board,  but  in  1644  there  was  a  falling  out  between 
the  two  bodies,3  and  thereafter  they  formed  two  distinct  branches. 

Thus  was  established  in  America  the  legislative  body  composed 
of  two  houses.     The  Virginia  assembly,  established  in  1619,  con 
sisted  of  only  one  house.     By  the  time  of  the  Revolu 
tion  all  of  the  colonies  had  adopted  the  Massachusetts      h0use^° 
plan  of  legislative  organization,  and  this  system  was 
continued  by  every  state  as  well  as  by  the  national  government 
of  the  United  States. 

The  other  New  England  colonies  had  representative  assemblies. 
In  New  York,  during  Dutch  rule,  the  necessity  of  a  popular 
assembly  to  assist  the  council  of  the  West  India  Company 

1  Lady  Andros  was  as  much  beloved  as  her  husband  was  hated,  and  at  the 
time  of  her  death  was  sincerely  mourned  in  New  England.     She  was  buried  in 
King's  Chapel,  Boston. 

2  When  this  charter  was  granted  in  1629,  Charles  I  was  trying  to  govern 
his  kingdom  without  the  aid  of  Parliament,  and  so  he  himself  gave  the  charter. 

3  The  misunderstanding  came  about  through  a  lawsuit  over  Mistress  Sher 
man's  pig.    It  produced  a  breach  between  the  two  houses,  and  each  thereafter 
had  a  veto  power  over  the  other. 


104  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

became  apparent.  Both  Kieft  and  Stuyvesant  allowed  the 
people  to  elect  such  an  assembly,  but  each  governor  managed  to 
have  the  assembly  composed  of  men  who  were  under  his  control.1 
After  New  York  became  an  English  possession,  Governor  Dongan, 
a  very  wise  ruler,  obtained  a  charter  for  the  colony  which  proved 
to  be  a  good  constitution.  This  charter  provided  a  legislative 
assembly  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  In  Pennsylvania,  from  the 
first,  there  was  an  assembly  to  represent  the  people ;  this  assem 
bly,  with  the  governor  appointed  by  the  proprietor,  made  the  laws. 

Maryland,  as  has  been  noted,  was  practically  a  palatinate  or 
little  monarchy,  under  Lord  Baltimore,  who  was  an  unusually 
broad  and  humane  man.  Yet  the  popular  assembly  was  early 
regarded  as  the  real  law-making  and  governing  body.  In  Vir 
ginia  the  House  of  Burgesses  made  the  laws,  which,  after  having 
been  approved  by  the  governor,  must  also  receive  the  approval 
of  the  king.  In  fact,  the  king  reserved  to  himself  the  Fight  to 
cancel  all  laws  passed  by  the  assemblies  in  the  royal  provinces. 

Subordinate  Officers.  —  In  the  main,  the  subordinate  offices  and 
officers  of  the  colonies  were  about  the  same  as  in  the  mother 
country.  There  were  courts  of  justice,  courts  of  record,  judges, 
sheriffs,  clerks,  constables,  and  the  like,  and  their  duties  have 
not  changed  materially  in  two  centuries.  There  were  tithing- 
men,  who  originally  collected  one  tenth  of  each  man's  income 
for  the  benefit  of  the  church,  or  perhaps  for  the  king.  The 
"tidy-man"  of  New  England  stood  guard  over  the  church  con 
gregation,  thwacking  with  his  long  rod  the  thick  skull  of  any 
unfortunate  who  should  presume  to  find  a  three-hour  sermon  dry 
enough  to  put  him  to  sleep.  There  were  also  town-criers,  who 
kept  the  people  in  touch  with  any  startling  news.  All  these  were 
the  heritage  from  the  mother  country,  and  when  no  longer 
necessary  they  were  discarded. 

Popular  Government.  —  The  rapid  spread  of  the  desire  for  popu 
lar  government  in  the  colonies  was  not  due  so  much  to  any 
superiority  which  the  colonists  might  possess  as  compared  with 

1  Governor  Stuyvesant  once  exclaimed  to  an  obstinate  councilman:  "  If  any 
one  during  my  administration  shall  appeal,  I  will  make  him  a  foot  shorter  and 
send  the  pieces  back  to  Holland." 


A    CENTURY  OF  COLONIAL  LIFE  105 

the  people  of  the  mother  country  ;  it  was  due  chiefly  to  their  new 
geographical  surroundings.  The  conservative  lawmakers  of  Eng 
land  could  not  know  what  the  colonists  needed.  But  the  colonists 
themselves  knew  well  what  laws  were  best  suited  to  their  environ 
ment,  and  proceeded  to  get  them  by  means  of  their  own  assemblies. 
Had  the  Established  Church  party  emigrated  to  America,  instead 
of  the  Puritans  and  the  Friends,  the  result  would  have  been  the 
same.  It  was  merely  a  case  of  the  man  adjusting  himself  to 
changed  environment,  —  and  that  is  the  chief  reason  why  "  Liberty 
was  in  the  air." 

SUMMARY 

The  political  and  social  features  of  the  colonies  were  essentially  the 
same  as  those  of  the  home  country,  but  were  somewhat  modified  by  new 
surroundings. 

The  lines  between  the  aristocracy  and  the  commoners  in  the  colonies 
were  strongly  drawn.  In  Virginia  the  aristocracy  consisted  of  the 
wealthy  tobacco  planters,  in  New  York  they  were  the  patroons,  and  in 
New  England  the  clergymen,  the  colonial  officers,  and  a  few  gentry. 

In  the  Southern  colonies  the  chief  industry  was  tobacco  planting  ;  in 
New  York  the  fur  trade  and  commerce  were  the  chief  employments,  and 
in  New  England  fishing,  shipbuilding,  and  ocean  commerce. 

The  navigation  laws  prohibited  the  colonists  from  trading  with  any 
country  except  England,  and  had  the  effect  of  lowering  the  prices  of 
commodities  for  export.  When  enforced,  these  laws  crippled  the  trade 
of  the  colonies. 

There  were  three  forms  of  colonial  government :  charter,  proprietary, 
and  royal.  All  the  colonies  except  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  became  royal  provinces.  The  last  three 
named  were  owned  by  individual  proprietors. 

Elective  legislative  assemblies  were  created  in  all  the  leading  colonies, 
and  out  of  these  grew  the  double-assembly  system  in  the  states  and  the 
United  States. 

COLLATERAL  READING 

Old  Virginia  and  Her  Neighbors  —  Fiske.     Chapters  X,  XII. 
Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies  in  America  —  Fiske.     Chapters  XV,  XVI. 
History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  I,  Chapter  XIV. 
The  Beginnings  of  New  England —  Fiske.     Chapter  III. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  THE  POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT 
FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS   AND   SETTLEMENTS 

Early  French  Explorations.  — The  French,  did  not  take  any  con 
siderable  part  in  the  early  exploration  of  the  American  continent. 
Only  one  of  the  earlier  expeditions  under  the  direction 
of    the    French    king   was   fruitful.       In   15M-1535 
Jacques  Cartier  coasted  about  the  island  of  Newfoundland  and 
discovered  the  river  which  he  named  St.  Lawrence.    His  party 
ascended   the  river  to  an  island  that   was   the  site  of  a  large 
Indian  village.     To  the  lofty  boss  of  volcanic  rock  that  afforded 
a  most  delightful  view,  he  gave  the  name  of  Montreal,  meaning 
royal  mountain. 

Possibly  the  fact  that  the  undiscovered  lands  of  the  earth  had 
been  divided  between  Spain  and  Portugal  may  have  prevented 
the  French  from  taking  part  in  the  earlier  voyages  of  discovery ; l 
certain  it  is  that  they  did  not  become  active  until  more  than 
seventy  years  after  Cartier's  voyage.  Just  about  the  time  (1608) 
that  Henry  Hudson  explored  New  York  Bay,  Samuel 
Champlain,  a  young  Frenchman,  descended  from  an 
excellent  Huguenot  family,  established  a  permanent  settlement 
at  a  locality  that  he  had  visited  four  or  five  years  before.  The 
promontory  that  overlooks  the  narrow  stretch  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
commended  itself  to  him  as  the  best  place  for  a  trading  post  and 

1  King  Francis  I  demanded  "  the  clause  in  the  Mill  of  Father  Adam  which 
divides  the  earth  between  the  Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
French."  Cartier's  expedition  was  probably  a  perfunctory  act  designed  to 
establish  a  precedent. 

106 


STRUGGLE  FOR  POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT     107 

fort,  and  he  named  it  Quebec,  an  Algonquian  word  meaning  "  the 
narrows."  The  next  year  he  went  farther  inland  and  discovered 
the  lake  which  was  named  in  his  honor. 

The  business  of  fur  trading  proved  a  paying  industry,  and  in 
order  to  put  it  on  a  better  basis,  Champlain  made  a  treaty  with  the 
Algonquian  Indians.  This  affair  shortly  afterward  drew  him  into 
a  battle  with  the  Mohawks,  near  Ticonderoga.  He  defeated  these 
Indians,  but  in  doing  so  brought  upon  himself  the  eternal  hatred 
of  the  Iroquoian  tribes ;  as  a  result,  the  French  were  not  able  to 
establish  trading  posts  in  central  New  York. 

The  Settlement  of  New  France.  —  In  the  course  of  time  various 
small  settlements  were  made  by  the  French,  mainly  within  the 
area  now  including  Nova  Scotia  and  a  part  of  New  Brunswick 
and  Maine.  Perhaps  the  most  important  of  these  settlements  was 
Port  Royal,  now  Annapolis.  This  area,  settled  largely  by  fisher 
men,  pastoral  people,  and  fur  traders,  was  named  Acadia.1  The 
region  of  the  Great  Lakes  was  penetrated  by  hardy  French  ex 
plorers  who  established  small  blockhouses,  forts,  and  trading  posts 
all  along  the  entire  basin.  This  region,  along  with  Acadia,  was  a 
French  Crown  possession,  and  was  known  as  New  France. 

The  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi.  1672-1682.  —  From  the 
Indians  it  was  learned  that  a  great  river  lay  to  the  westward 
of  Mackinac,  a  trading  post  where  now  is  a  town 
of  the  same  name.  In  May,  1673,  Louis  Joliet  and 
Father  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  missionary,2  with  a  small 
party  in  two  canoes,  crossed  Lake  Michigan  to  Green  Bay,3  and 
then  dragged  their  canoes  across  the  portages  and  divides  that 
separate  Green  Bay  from  the  Mississippi.  In  June  they  reached 
the  river  and  descended  it  as  far  south  as  the  mouth  of  the 

1  An  Algonquian  word,  Aquoddy,  meaning  "  a  place." 

2  The  Jesuits,  or  Society  of  Jesus,  was  an  order  composed  of  priests.    The 
order,  organized  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  the  Christian  faith  throughout  all 
heathen  lands,  contained  men  selected  with  great  care  and  splendidly  trained  for 
their  work.    No  men  were  ever  more  zealous  in  their  work,  and  there  was  no 
part  of  the  world  they  did  not  reach.      Thousands  died  from   the  hardships 
endured,  hut  there  were  a  score  ready  to  take  the  place  of  each  one. 

3  This  arm  of  Lake  Michigan  was  noted  by  Jean  Nicollet,  who  reached  the 
source  of  the  Mississippi  about  1634-1635. 


108 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Arkansas  River,  not  far  from  the  place  of  De  Soto's  death.  From 
that  point  they  paddled  and  dragged  their  canoes  back  to  the 
Great  Lakes.  * 

A  few  years  later  (1679)  Robert  de  la  Salle  was  ordered  to 
complete  the  work  of  Joliet  and  Marquette,  for  the  French  king 


Route  ofMarqi 

Route  of  La  Salle  — x— X— X 

Freuch  Forts    -*. 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  AND  FORTS. 

saw  a  wonderful  future  in  the  broad  prairies  of  the  Mississippi. 
Near  Buffalo  La  Salle  built  a  small  vessel,  the 
Griffin,  which  carried  the  men  and  supplies  to  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  River,  where  they  built  a  fort  that 
afterward  became  the  town  of  St.  Joseph,  in  Michigan.  From 


La  Salle 


STRUGGLE  FOR  POSSESSION   OF  THE  CONTINENT     109 

this  point  they  proceeded  by  stream  and  portage  in  canoes  to 
the  present  site  of  Kankakee,  Illinois,  and  thence  to  the  place 
where  Peoria  now  stands,  building  blockhouse  forts  at  each 
place.  It  became  necessary  to  go  back  to  Canada  for  supplies, 
and  a  year  was  thus  lost. 

In  1682  La  Salle  reached  the  present  site  of  Chicago,  again  om- 
barked  on  the  Illinois  River,  and  descended  it  to  the  Mississippi. 
In    two  months    more    he   had   reached   the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  there  he  erected  a  wooden  cross  on  which 
was  fastened  a  shield  emblazoned  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  France. 
La  Salle  thereby  claimed  for  France  all  the  lands  drained  by  the 
Mississippi     Eiver  —  a    region     six 
times  as  large  as  the  whole  of  France. 
He  named  it  Louisiana  in  honor  of 
Louis  XIV,  at  that  time  king. 

The  Building  of  French  Forts.  —In 
order  to  hold  the  territory  thus  ac 
quired,  it  was  necessary  not  only  to 
build  many  forts  along  the  Mississippi 
and  its  eastern  tributaries,  but  also 
to  establish  a  settlement  at  its  mouth 
which  should  be  strong  enough  to 
keep  out  the  Spaniards,  who  had  a 
number  of  outposts  along  the  shores 

of   the    Gulf.      The  French   already 

,    ,,     .,        ~.      T  ^   „  ROBERT  DE  LA  SALLE. 

held   the   St.  Lawrence    valley   and 

the  basin  of  the  Great  Lakes,  a  territory  that  they  named 
New  France;  with  a  fort  and  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  they  could  control  the  whole  central  plain  through 
which  the  river  flowed.1 

The  carrying  out  of  these  plans  was  slow  work ;  nevertheless, 
in  the  course  of  fifty  years  a  chain  of  forts  was  established 
extending  up  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  along  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  down  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Gulf.  Some  forts  were 

1  The  first  settlement  made  in  the  Louisiana  region  by  white  men  was  at 
Biloxi,  just  east  of  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  where  Iberville,  a  French 
Canadian,  established  a  company  in  1099.  New  Orleans  was  founded  in  1718. 


110 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


A  BLOCKHOUSE. 


intended  to  guard  places  of  easy  approach ;  others  were  to  protect 
trading  posts ;  still  others  were  intended  for  defense  against  the 

Indians.  Many  of  them  were 
blockhouses,  surrounded  each 
by  a  palisade.1  In  almost 

jjfmjm?j^-^~fL~-  — — « — r— ^  -^""frf  '     >'    U       \. 

liSMSiSteSsI    J.i)J?/y          every  instance  a  trading  post 

was  established  at  the  fort, 
a  village  grew  up  about  the 
trading  post,  and  the  village 
finally  became  a  city.  Chi 
cago,  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati, 
St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  and 
a  number  of  smaller  places 
had  such  a  beginning.  Every 
thing  looked  toward  the  establishing  of  a  great  French  empire 
in  the  New  World.2 

Thus  was  created  the  French  possession  named  Louisiana.  The 
French  king  must  have  known  that  his  title  to  the  country  was  not 
the  very  best,  for  it  overlapped  the  Spanish  claims  in  what  is  now 
Texas,  and  trespassed  in  several  places  on  territory  occupied  by 
the  English.  Moreover,  England  claimed  the  whole  continent. 
The  region  including  the  present  states  of  Mississippi  and 
Louisiana,  however,  was  held  by  the  French  by  actual  settle 
ment. 

The  Indifference  of  the  English  to  the  Mississippi  Region.  —  In 
the  meantime  the  English  had  done  nothing  toward  exploring  the 
region  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  In  part  this  apparent 
neglect  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  did  not  then  care  to  arouse 
the  hostility  of  the  Iroquoian  tribes,  but  mainly  it  was  because 
they  felt  secure  in  their  right  to  the  western  country.  By  their 
charters  the  territory  of  several  colonies  extended  from  ocean  to 
ocean.  They  felt  all  the  more  secure  because  there  was  but  little 

1  The  palisade  usually  consisted  of  a  mud  wall  surmounted  by  a  row  of  heavy 
stakes,  the  whole  being  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height.    When  faced  with  a  row  of 
pointed  stakes  pointing  outward,  it  was  a  stockade. 

2  In  order  that  the  occupation  might  be  in  due  form,  the  commander-in-chief 
of  New  France  directed  (1743)  Celoron  de  Bienville  to  bury  leaden  tablets  on  which 
was  engraved  the  claim  of  King  Louis  XV  to  the  Ohio  and  the  Allegheny  valleys. 


COLONIES 

During  the 
FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WARS. 

djFreiu'h     LJ  Knjjlish    |      [Spa 

0         50         100  200  300 


STRUGGLE  FOR  POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT     111 

immigration  to  the  great  Louisiana  country  —  almost  all  of  it 
was  confined  to  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  and  the  few  forts  near  the 
Gulf  coast. 

WARS   BETWEEN  THE   FRENCH  AND   THE  ENGLISH 

The  Colonies  become  involved  in  European  Wars.  —  During  the 
sixty  years  previous  to  the  real  struggle  over  their  possessions 
in  America,  England  and  France  were  at  war  on  several  occa 
sions,  and  each  time  their  respective  colonies  in  America  were 
drawn  into  the  struggle.  Nothing  of  importance  to  the  colonies 
was  settled  by  these  wars. 

As  a  result  of  the  revolution  that  drove  James  II  from  the 
English  throne,  war  was  declared  between  France  and  England. 
Count  Frontenac,  who  conducted  the  French  campaign  R. 
in  America,  planned  to  send  a  strong  force  down  the  William's 
Hudson  Valley,  but  the  fact  that  tlie  jVIohawk  Indians  War. 
had  just  attacked  Montreal,  compelled. him  to  change  ^89-1697 
his  plans.  Instead  (1690),  scalping' -parties  were  sent  out  at 
different  times.  One  of  these  descended  on  Schenectady,  New 
York,  and  massacred  ninety  people ;  another  destroyed  Salmon 
Falls,  Massachusetts ;  another  devastated  the  region  along  the 
Maine  coast  where  Portland  now  stands.  A  few  years  later 
Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  was  attacked  and  many  of  the  people 
were  killed.  In  the  meantime,  the  New  England  colonies  sent 
out  a  fleet  which  captured  Port  Royal,  the  French  stronghold  near 
the  Bay  of  Fundy  in  Nova  Scotia.  This  war  cessed  (1697)  when 
the  mother  countries  each  restored  conquered  territories  and 
declared  a  temporary  peace. 

A  few  years  later  (1702)  the  war  was  renewed.     The  Indians 
were  turned  loose,  and  resumed  the  occupation  of  burning  and  kill 
ing.     The  New  England  colonists  again  captured  Port      Queen 
Royal,  but  were  defeated  in  an  attempt  to  take  Quebec.      Anne's 
Another  temporary  peace  was  declared.     There  was  a      War- 
distinct  gain  for  the  English  colonists,  for  they  kept      fl**-*?1* 
Port  Eoyal,  which  they  renamed  Annapolis  ;  they  also  gained 
Acadia  (now  Nova  Scotia),  Hudson  Bay  Territory,  and  Newfound 
land. 


112 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


THE  GATEWAY  TO  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE. 


Twenty-eight  years  later,  in  the  reign  of  George  II,  hostilities 
between  England  and  France  were  resumed.  In  the  meantime, 
King  ^ie  ^1>en°h  aa(l  accomplished  much  in  strengthening 

George's  themselves  in  New  France  and  Louisiana.  They  built 
War.  the  most  substantial  fort  in  the  New  World  at  Louis- 

1741-1748  burg,  on  Cape  Breton  Island.  It  guarded  the  entrance 
to  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  and  therefore  to  New  France.  Neverthe 
less,  Colonel  Pepperell  with  a  few  thousand  militia,  together  with 

the  British  fleet,  captured  it. 
There  was  not  much  hard 
fighting ;  the  French  were 
frightened  out.  The  result 
was  twofold.  This  capture 
of  Louisburg  put  an  end  to 
the  work  of  French  pirates 
who  had  been  plundering  the 
New  England  fishing  fleets, 
and  it  gave  the  colonial  troops  confidence  in  themselves.  Very 
foolishly  the  English  gave  Louisburg  back  to  the  French  at  the 
close  of  the  war. 

The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle  for  a  Continent.  —  By  this  time  it 
had  become  apparent  to  both  England  and  France  that  one  or  the 
other  must  quit  the  continent  of  North  America  — 
there  was  no  longer  room  for  the  two  nations  upon  it. 
Neither  England  nor  her  colonies  seemed  to  appreciate 
how  strong  the  .French  had  become,  but  the  latter  knew  how  weak 
the  English  were.  It  is  true  that  there  were  about  fifteen  English 
colonists  to  every  Frenchman,  but  the  French  had  practically  every 
advantage  of  position,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  perceive  this. 

Years  before  this  time  efforts  were  put  forth  to  induce  young 
men  to  go  to  New  France  and  Louisiana,  and  many  had  gone 
there;  but  the  king  would  not  permit  them  to  be  landowners, 
and  instead  of  making  farms  and  growing  food  crops,  most  of 
them  drifted  into  a  vagabond  life,  living  with  the  Indians  and 
trading  in  furs.1  In  later  years  the  government  had  given  much 
more  attention  to  forts  than  to  farms,  and  the  line  of  forts  down 

1  They  became  known  by  the  name  of  coureurs  de  bois  (rangers  of  the  forest). 


Relative 
advantages 


STRUGGLE  FOR   POSSESSION   OF  THE   CONTINENT      113 


the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  had  increased  to  about  sixty  in 
number.  Although  the  French  nominally  held  the  basin  of  the 
Great  Lakes,  they  kept  away  from  the  south  shores  of  Lakes  Erie 
and  Ontario  for  a  very  good  reason,  —  they  did  not  care  to  have 
more  trouble  with  the  Iroquoian  tribes  who  claimed  this  region. 

The  Appalachian  ranges  separated  the  French  and  the  English, 
and  inasmuch  as  these  mountains  produced  nothing  that  either 
side  cared  for,  they  formed  an  excellent  "  buffer  "  ter 
ritory  between  the  two.  In  these  ranges,  however, 
were  three  important  gateways  between  the  English  Appaia- 
and  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  chief  of  these  was  c 
the  Mohawk  River  gap.  As  this  was  held  by  the  Iroquoians,  the 
French  had  not  attempted  to  interfere  there ;  however,  they  built  a 
fort  at  Kingston,  opposite  the  present 
site  of  Oswego,  New  York.  The  next 
in  importance  as  a  gateway  was  the 
valley  of  Lake  Champlain.  There 
was  clear  sailing  over  the  lake  from 
head  to  foot,  and  the  trails  along  the 
lake  from  the  Hudson  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  were  level  enough  for  a 
wagon  road.  At  Crown  Point,  a 
peninsula  that  cuts  the  lake  almost 
in  two,  the  French  built  a  fort.  On 
Ticonderoga,  a  tableland  that  com 
mands  a  narrow  view  of  the  lake, 
they  built  another. 

There  was  still  another  pass  across 
the  mountains,  namely,  the  gap  along 
the  Potomac  at  Cumberland  and 
across  the  divide  to  the  Ohio.1  It  had  become  an  important 
route  from  Virginia  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  the  French  were  not 
slow  to  see  the  value  of  it.  They  also  established  Fort  le  Boetif 
in  the  valley  of  French  Creek,  a  few  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie. 

1  It  had  been  an  old  Indian  trail  before  the  white  men  came  ;  it  was  discovered 
by  the  bison  before  the  Indians  knew  of  it.  It  is  the  route  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  to-day. 


A  FRENCH  FUR  TRADER. 


114 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Quebec 


Attitude 
of  the 
colonists 


From  this  point,  if  necessary,  they  could  quickly  go  clown  the 
river  to  the  Ohio,  or  they  could  as  easily  get  back  to  Presqu' 
Isle,  the  present  site  of  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 

Many  have  charged  the  English  government  with  dilatory  con 
duct  for  remaining  idle  while  all  these  things  were  going  on. 

The  fault, 
however, 
lay  chiefly 
with  the  colonists 
themselves.  The 
governors  of  Vir 
ginia,  New  York, 
and  Massachusetts 
each  called  upon  his 
legislative  assembly 
to  take  active  meas 
ures,  but  the  assem 
blies  adjourned  with 
out  doing  anything. 
Benjamin  Franklin 
and  other  leading 
men,  in  a  congress 
at  Albany  in  1754, 
drew  up  a  plan  for 
the  federation  of  the 
colonies  in  order  that 
they  might  take  con 
certed  action,  but  the 
colonists,  who  stood 
GATEWAYS  THROUGH  THE  APPALACHIANS.  jn  great  fear  of  a 

centralized  power,  rej.ected  the  plan  with  but  little  ceremony.1 

England,  however,  sent  over  some  of  her  best  troops,  and  the 
colonies  called  out  their  militia.  But  almost  always  regular 

1  The  congress  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  treaty  with  the  Iroquo- 
ians ;  but  some  of  the  delegates  preferred  to  make  treaties  independently  with  the 
tribes  on  the  borders  of  their  own  colonies.  They  regarded  Franklin's  federation 
of  the  colonies  as  the  greater  of  two  evils.  The  meeting  is  known  as  the  Albany 
Congress.  See  page  177. 


STRUGGLE  FOR  POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT     115 


troops  look  upon  militia  and  volunteers  with  contempt,  and  this 
case  was  no  exception  to  the  rule ;  the  two  did  not  get  on  together 
very  well,  and  each  reserved  their  worst  manners  for  the  other. 
This  was  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  beginning  of  the  greatest  war 
that  had  occurred  in  the  New  World,  the  conflict  known  as  the 
French  and  Indian  War. 

Washington's  Mission.  1755.  —  When  it  was  learned  that  the 
French  were  in  the  Allegheny  Valley,  Governor  Dinwiddie  of 
Virginia  determined  to  send  a  messenger  to  confer  with  the  com 
mander  of  the  French  troops,  and  also  to  prevent  as  far  as  possible 
any  intrigues  with  the  Indians.  The 
messenger  selected  was  a  young  sur 
veyor,  George  Washington.  Wash 
ington  presented  his  message  to  the 
French  commander  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf, 
who  told  him  in  a  very  polite  way 
that  what  the  French  were  doing  in 
the  Allegheny  Valley  was  none  of 
Governor  Dinwiddie's  business.  The 
commander  also  intimated  that  the 
French  troops  intended  to'  drive  the 
English  out  of  the  country.  When 
Washington  returned,  Governor  Din 
widdie  at  once  ordered  a  fort  built 
on  the  peninsula  at  the  junction  of 
the  two  rivers,  where  Pittsburg  now 
stands,  in  order  to  save  the  lands  of  the  Ohio  Company ; l  but 
the  French  drove  the  men  away  and  themselves  completed  the 
fort,  which  they  named  Duquesne. 

Washington  was  again  ordered  to  the  frontier  with  three  hun 
dred  men.2    He  hastily  threw  up  earthworks,  which  he  named 

1  This  first  Ohio  Company,  organized  in  1749  by  Virginia  colonists  and  London 
merchants,  was  given  by  the  king  of  England  500,000  acres  of  land  in  western 
Pennsylvania  and  along  the  Ohio  River.    The  company  prepared  to  open  roads 
and  establish  settlements,  but  it  soon  went  out  of  existence. 

2  It  was  a  Virginia  regiment  of  which  Joshua  Fry  was  colonel  and  Washington 
the  second  in  command.    Colonel  Fry  was  mortally  ill,  however,  and  Washington 
therefore  took  the  command. 


From  a  painting. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  AS  A 
YOUNG  MAN. 


116  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Fort  Necessity,  at  Great  Meadows,  a  few  miles  south  of  Fort 
Duquesne.  While  there,  he  attacked  and  captured  a  French  scout 
ing  party,  which  had  been  reported  by  his  Indian  allies ;  but  in  a 
very  short  time  a  force  of  French  troops  and  Indians  was  upon 
him,  and  after  a  brief  struggle  (July  4,  1755)  he  surrendered. 
He  was  permitted  to  leave  with  arms  and  equipments.  His  chief 
Indian  ally,  Half-King,  remarked  that  "  the  French  behaved  like 
cowards  and  the  English  like  fools."  It  would  be  a  more  correct 
interpretation  to  claim  that  neither  side  desired  to  shoulder  the 
responsibility  of  committing  a  formal  act  of  war,  although  the 
fight  was  clearly  an  act  of  war. 

The  English  Plan  of  Campaign.  —  Both  France  and  England  saw 
that  the  struggle  was  one  of  life  and  death,  and  both  prepared 
themselves  for  the  contest.  All  the  troops  that  could  be  spared 
were  hurried  to  the  scene  of  conflict.  The  French  seemed  inclined 
to  act  on  the  defensive.  The  English  planned  to  attack  in  four 
places  by  as  many  expeditions.  The  expeditions  were  :  — 

(1)  By  way  of  Cumberland,  Maryland,  across  the  divide,  to  attack 

Fort  Duquesne,  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio. 

(2)  Up  Lake  Cham  plain  to  capture  Fort  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 

Point  and  to  lay  siege  to  Quebec, 

(3)  Through  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  valleys  to  Oswego  and 

Niagara. 

(4)  Against  the  French  towns  in  the  northeast  by  a  naval  expedi 

tion,  thereby  holding  back  troops  that  might  otherwise  go 
to  the  defense  of  Quebec. 

Braddock's  Defeat.  1755.  —  The  most  important  operation  was 
the  one  designed  to  check  the  advance  of  the  French  at  the  head 
of  the  Ohio,  and  General  Braddock,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
English  and  colonial  forces,  undertook  this  part  of  the  campaign. 
Braddock's  army  cut  its  way  through  the  heavily  timbered 
country  until  he  was  within  a  few  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne,  when 
he  made  the  mistake  which  cost  him  his  life.  He  would  not 
allow  his  men  to  get  behind  trees  or  to  lie  down  to  deliver  their 
fire,  after  the  Indian  plan  of  fighting.  Instead,  he  held  them  in 
solid  columns,  to  be  mowed  down  by  the  deadly  fire  of  his  enemy.1 

1  The  British  followed  a  similar  plan  during  the  first  part  of  the  Boer  War, 
but  they  learned  better  by  experience  before  the  war  was  over. 


STRUGGLE  FOE   POSSESSION   OF  THE   CONTINENT     117 


Montcalm 


Braddock  himself  was  a  brave  leader,  and  on  a  European  battle 
field  he  would  have  been  a  most  efficient  commander.  Fighting 
a  foe  of  skirmishers  in  the  timber,  however,  was  a  new  strategy 
to  him  and  one  for  which  he  was  not  prepared.  Washington, 
who  was  with  Braddock  as  an  aid,  was  better  informed  in  this 
sort  of  fighting,  and  so  lie  conducted  an  orderly  retreat. 

The  Campaign  in  New  York  and  Canada.  —  The  conduct  of  the 
war  in  New  York  and  Canada  for  the  first  three  years  was  dis 
heartening.  The  French  had  a  new  commander,  a 
young  man  named  Montcalm.  Montcalm  was  not 
only  a  born  soldier,  he  was  a  born  diplomat  as  well.  He  made 
peace  with  the  Iroquoians,  long  enemies  of  the  French,  and  even 
persuaded  them  to  give  no  help 
to  the  English.  To  emphasize 
his  good  intentions,  he  crossed 
Lake  Ontario  from  Fort  Fronte- 
nac  one  night  and  drove  the  Eng 
lish  from  Fort  Oswego.  Then, 
to  show  the  Indians  that  he  did 
not  want  their  lands,  he  destroyed 
the  fort  and  returned  to  Canada. 

The  expedition  to  the  Cham- 
plain  Valley  for  a  time  was  barren 
of  results.  Fort  William  Henry, 
at  the  head  of  Lake  George, 
was  captured  by  Montcalm,  and 
many  of  the  disarmed  English 
soldiers  who  were  retreating  to 
Fort  Edward  were  massacred  by 


THE  MARQUIS  DE  MONTCALM. 


drunken  Indians.  General  Abercrombie  (1758)  attempted  to  cap 
ture  Ticonderoga ;  but  though  he  had  nearly  five  times  as  many 
men  as  Montcalm,  the  affair  was  badly  managed  and  proved  a 
wretched  failure.  After  six  assaults  upon  the  fort,  Abercrombie 
had  lost  over  two  thousand  men,  killed  and  wounded.  Aber 
crombie  himself  kept  away  from  the  fight,  but  brave  Lord  Howe, 
who  led  the  assault,  was  slain.  A  movement  against  Crown  Point 
was  partly  successful,  but  it  had  no  real  results. 


118 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


The  operations  against  Niagara  were  a  flat  failure.  To  add  to 
the  gloom  of  the  situation,  a  scalping  party  of  Indians  destroyed 
Palatine  Village,  New  York,  leaving  forty  of  its  people  dead. 

An  expedition  from  New  England  to  Acadia  in  the  northeast 
succeeded  in  driving  out  the  French.1 

The  Turning  of  the  War.  Bradstreet  destroys  the  French  Supplies. 
1758.  —  At  the  beginning  of  1758  the  English  cause  seemed  al 
most  hopeless.  Fortunately  William  Pitt  had  just  come  to  the 
front  in  England  as  secretary  of  state.  He  practically  had  control 
of  colonial  affairs,  and  his  good  common  sense  was  felt  very  quickly. 
During  that  year,  moreover,  an  incident  occurred  that  helped  very 


A  MEDAL  COMMEMORATING  THE  CAPTURE  OF  LOUISBURG  AND  CAPE  BRETON. 

The  picture  shows  a  rare  brass  medal,  bearing  a  head  of  Admiral  Boscawen  on 
one  side,  and  on  the  other  a  quaint  view  of  Louisburg  harbor  and  fort. 

materially  to  turn  the  tide  of  war.  The  French  had  never  grown 
any  amount  of  food  stuffs  in  New  France  and  Louisiana.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  war  they  had  depended  upon  the  mother 
country  for  their  supplies,  and  these  were  passed  onward  from 
one  to  another  of  the  chain  of  forts. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1758,  it  happened  that  a  very 
large  quantity  of  supplies  had  accumulated  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
waiting  to  be  transferred  to  the  forts  beyond,  mainly  to  Fort 
Duquesne.  In  August  Colonel  John  Bradstreet,  a  militia  officer, 
urged  upon  the  council  of  war  the  necessity  of  destroying  these 


1  Some  six  thousand  Acadians  were  forcibly  removed  from  their  homes  and 
distributed  among  the  English  colonies  because  of  their  strong  loyalty  to  France. 


STRUGGLE  FOR  POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT     119 

supplies,  and  permission  for  an  expedition  was  reluctantly  given. 
Bradstreet  gathered  a  force  of  about  twenty-seven  hundred  men, 
moved  rapidly  to  Oswego,  crossed  the  lake,  and  before  the  French 
were  aware  of  his  approach,  Fort  Frontenac  was  forever  lost  to 
them.  All  the  stores  were  captured  or  destroyed,  and  the  chain 
of  forts  that  had  been  strangling  the  colonies  was  broken. 

The  Fall  of  Fort  Duquesne  and  Louisburg.  1758.  —  The  loss  of 
the  food  stuffs  was  a  fatal  blow  to  the  French;  at  Fort  Du 
quesne  starvation  was  not  far  off.  Washington  gradually  closed 
in  about  the  fort  (1758),  and  the  garrison  set  fire  to  it  and 
retreated.  When  the  English  flag  was  raised  over  the  smoking 
ruins,  all  agreed  to  call  the  village  Pittsburg  in  honor  of  William 
Pitt.  About  the  same  time,  too,  Louisburg,  after  a  hard  siege, 
was  surrendered  to  two  very  good  fighters,  Amherst  and  Bos- 
cawen,  and  thus  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  gateway  to  New  France 
was  in  possession  of  the  English. 
In  the  meantime,  Sir  William 
Johnson  made  a  rapid  advance 
against  Fort  Niagara  and  captured 
it,  thus  breaking  another  link  in 
the  chain  of  forts. 

The  Storming  of  Quebec.  1759. 
-  The  operations  in  Canada  had 
been  directed  by  General  James 
Wolfe,1  a  very  skillful  commander. 
After  the  fall  of  Louisburg  there 
remained  but  one  important 
stronghold,  Quebec.  The  fortress 

above  the  town  had  been  made 

i  -,        j  i  ^  GENERAL  WOLFE. 

as  strong  as  human  hands  could 

build.  The  following  year,  1759,  General  Wolfe  entered  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  proceeded  to  lay  siege  to  Quebec.  Several 
weeks  of  bombardment  failed  to  reduce  it,  so,  during  the  night 
of  September  12,  Wolfe  and  his  men  scaled  the  steep  side 

1  He  was  a  most  gallant  officer,  and  was  selected  by  Pitt  for  the  command  of 
the  forces  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  ten  thousand  in  number. 


120  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

of  the  cliff  in  the  rear  of  the  fortress  for  a  final  attack.  The 
morning  found  them  on  the  top  of  the  cliff,  a  tableland  called 
the  Plains  of  Abraham.  Montcalm  at  once  gave  battle,  but  after 
a  terrible  fight  the  French  yielded.  Wolfe  and  Montcalm  both 
fell  that  day;  two  better  men  and  braver  soldiers  than  they 
never  met.  Quebec  was  then  occupied  by  the  English.  In  the 
following  summer  Montreal  was  taken.  And  so  ended  the  French 
empire  in  America. 

The  French  expelled  from  America.     1763.  —  War  had  not  been 
publicly  declared  (May,  1756)  until  two  years  after  the  fighting 
had  begun,  and  both  countries  were  equally  slow  in 


making  peace.      Three  years  after  the  surrender    of 


Montreal,  the  treaty  was  signed  in  Paris,  in  1763.  By 
its  terms  France  gave  to  England  all  of  Canada,  except  the  islands 
of  St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon,  and  all  her  territory  east  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  A  small  area  around  the  mouth  of  the  river,  however, 
was  excluded  ;  this  and  all  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  was 
ceded  to  Spain,  who  was  an  ally  of  France.1  During  the  war  the 
English  had  taken  Havana  in  Cuba  ;  by  the  treaty  this  city  was 
exchanged  for  the  Spanish  possessions  in  Florida. 

The  territory  gained  by  the  treaty  comprises  a  large  part  of  the 
most  productive  area  of  the  United  States.  Had  the  French 
retained  this  region  with  its  tremendous  natural  resources,  and 
the  commercial  outlets  by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
Mississippi,  France  might  have  become  easily  the  greatest  power 
on  the  earth. 

SUMMARY 

i 

The  French  entered  America  by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and 
established  a  chain  of  forts  to  hold  this  valley.  The  region  about  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  the  Great  Lakes  constituted  New  France. 

By  virtue  of  discovery  and  exploration,  the  French  claimed  the  basin 
of  the  Mississippi  River,  named  Louisiana,  and  proceeded  to  hold  it 
also  by  a  chain  of  forts  connecting  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

1  This  territory,  including  New  Orleans,  was  in  1800  again  transferred  secretly 
to  France. 


STRUGGLE  FOR   POSSESSION  OF  THE  CONTINENT     121 

During  hostilities  between  England  and  "France,  the  war  was  three 
times  carried  into  the  American  colonies,  constituting  King  William's, 
Queen  Anne's,  and  King  George's  wars. 

A  fourth  war,  called  the  French  and  Indian  War,  was  waged  to  deter 
mine  the  mastery  of  the  continent. 

A  campaign  against  Fort  Duquesne  ended  in  a  rout  of  the  English 
and  colonial  forces. 

A  campaign  into  Champlain  Valley  for  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticou- 
deroga  and  Crown  Point  also  failed,  and  the  French  general,  Montcalm, 
advanced  and  captured  Fort  William  Henry. 

A  sudden  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac  by  Colonel  Bradstreet  was  the 
turning  point  of  the  war.  He  destroyed  the  food  supplies  of  the  French. 

The  capture  of  Quebec  by  General  Wolfe  in  1759,  and  of  Montreal  in 
1760,  took  from  the  French  their  last  strongholds  in  America. 

By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763,  France  surrendered  to  England  all  of 
Canada,  except  two  small  islands,  and  all  her  claims  to  territory  east  of 
the  Mississippi ;  Spain  ceded  Florida  to  England.  The  territory  west 
of  the  Mississippi  was  ceded  to  Spain. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

New  France  and  Neio  England  —  Fiske.     Chapter  I. 
History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  II,  Chapters  X,  XI. 
Montcalm  and  Wolfe  —  Park  man.     Vol.  I,  Chapters  V,  VII T;  Vol.  II, 
Chapters  XXIV,  XXVII. 

With  Wolfe  in  Canada  —  Henty.     (For  popular  reading.) 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE   ESTRANGEMENT    OF   THE   COLONIES 

The  King's  Plan  for  Taxing  the  Colonies.  1765.  —  One  might 
reasonably  think  that  the  fortunate  ending  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War  would  tend  to  bring  the  colonies  and  the  mother 
country  into  more  harmonious  relations.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
it  did  not.  During  the  half  century  that  the  French  had  been 
a  constant  menace,  the  question  of  defense  against  French 
aggression  had  been  uppermost.  For  their  protection  the  colo 
nies  naturally  looked  to  England,  and  therefore  all  unpleasant 
feeling  about  the  navigation  laws  and  other  restrictions  was 
put  aside.  When,  however,  the  French  were  driven  out  of  the 
continent  and  were  no  longer  to  be  feared,  all  the  old  issues  again 
came  to  the  surface.  Just  at  this  time,  too,  another  vexatious 
question  came  up,  namely,  the  payment  of  the  war  debt  and  the 
right  of  the  mother  country  to  tax  the  colonies  for  it. 

A  few  years  after  George  III  had  come  to  the  throne  (1760), 

a  general   plan  for   levying   taxes  was  arranged   by  his  prime 

minister,    Grenville,    and   under    its    provisions    the 

e  imp  coionists  were  to  be  required  to  contribute  to  the 
Royal  Treasury.  The  law,  passed  in  1765,  was 
known  in  England  as  the  Stamp  Act,  from  the  fact  that  it 
required  that  revenue  stamps  purchased  from  the  government 
should  be  placed  on  all  legal  documents,  promissory  notes,  and 
receipts,  and  also  on  newspapers  and  other  publications.  This 
form  of  taxation  applied  to  the  mother  country  as  well  as  to  the 
colonies.  The  stamps  ranged  in  value  from  a  half  penny  (one 
cent)  for  a  stamp  to  go  on  a  small  newspaper  or  pamphlet,  to. 
six  pounds  sterling  (a  little  more  than  twenty-nine  dollars)  for 
a  stamp  to  go  on  a  commission  for  a  public  office.  Grenville 

122 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES 


123 


believed  that  a  large  sum  could  be  raised  every  year  from  the 
Americans  in  this  way. 

Why  the  Stamp  Act  was  Passed.  —  At  the  time  of  the  passage 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  the  public  debt  of  England  had  reached  a 
total  of  about  seven  hundred  million  dollars.  This  debt  had 
been  contracted  mainly  in  the  wars  with  France,  which  had 
been  fought  in  America  as  well  as  in  Europe.  The  English 
people  were  of  the  opinion  that  as  a  considerable  part  of  the 
indebtedness  had  been  incurred  for  the  defense  of  the  colo 
nies,  it  would  be  no  more 
than  right  that  they  should 
contribute  to  the  payment 
of  this  debt.  King  George 
desired  to  keep  a  standing 
army  in  America,  and  it 
was  proposed  to  make  the 
colonists  pay  the  cost  of  it 
by  means'of  the  stamp  tax. 
This  tax  was  an  experi 
ment  ;  should  it  be  success 
ful,  other  taxes  were  to  be 
laid.  For  many  years  the  colonists  had  been  required  to  pay 
to  England  duties  on  the  sugar  and  molasses  they  imported 
from  the  West  Indies,  but  never  before  had  the  British  govern 
ment  attempted  to  raise  taxes  except  on  matters  of  commerce. 
The  colonists  feared  that  the  proposed  stamp  tax  would  lead  to 
many  other  forms  of  internal  taxation.  They  resented  bitterly 
any  tax  which  hampered  or  interfered  with  them  in  their  own 
internal  affairs. 

The  Colonies   are  Aroused.  —  The   passage   of  the   Stamp   Act 
brought  on  the  first  serious  struggle  which  England  had  with 
her  American   colonies.      The   tax  made  an   important   change 
in  the  political  system  and  therefore  produced  much 
excitement  in  each  colony.     "The  sun  of  Liberty  is       without 
set,"  Benjamin   Franklin   wrote.      A   great   wave  of       represen- 
indignation  seemed  to  roll  from  New  Hampshire  to 
Georgia.      In   every   colony   the   tax   was   called   illegal.      The 


ENGLISH  STAMPS  FOR  THE  AMERICAN 
COLONIES. 


124 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


colonists  emphatically  asserted  that  they  could  be  legally  taxed 
only  when  the  taxes  were  levied  by  their  representative  as 
semblies,  and  not  by  the  English  Parliament,  in  which  they  had 
no  representation.  "  Taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny/' 
they  declared. 

This  cry  of  "no  taxation  without  representation"  had  been 


Fiom  the  painting  by  Rothermel. 

PATRICK  HENRY  ADDRESSING  THE  VIRGINIA  BURGESSES. 

voiced  by  James  Otis  of  Massachusetts  four  years  previous  to 
the  passing  of  the  Stamp  Act.  In  opposition  to  the  attempts 
to  enforce  the  navigation  laws,  he  argued  strongly  that  England 
had  no  right  to  tax  the  colonies  unless  they  should  have  repre 
sentation  in  the  Parliament.  In  the  Virginia  House  of  Bur 
gesses  in  1765  Patrick  Henry l  offered  resolutions  declaring  that 

1  PATRICK  HENRY  (1736-1799)  was  a  native  of  Hanover  County,  Virginia.     He 
early  turned  from  business,  for  which  he  had  no  liking,  to  the  study  of  law. 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES 


125 


the  colonies  had  all  the  privileges  of  Englishmen,  and  that 
Virginia's  charter  gave  them  the  right  to  be  taxed  by  their  own 
assembly  alone.  Henry's  eloquence  carried  the  resolutions  with 
a  storm  of  applause. 

For  five  hundred  years  it  had  been  a   fundamental  principle 
with  the  English  people  that  no  taxes  could  be  lawfully  laid  on 
them  "  but  by  their  own  consent  or  by  their  represen-      Th 
tatives."     This  principle  had  been  maintained  by  the      principles 
Americans  so  far  as  it  related  to  direct  taxation.     As      at  issue 
subjects  of  England,  they  claimed  all  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
Englishmen.     It  was  not  the  question  of  money,  but  the  manner 
by  which  it  was  to  be  obtained, 
that  aroused  opposition. 

The  colonies  had  paid  the 
expenses  of  the  soldiers  they 
furnished  in  the  campaigns  of 
the  French  and  Indian  War, 
and  had  done  all  they  could  to 
enable  England  to  conquer  her 
old  enemy  and  to  become  the 
ruler  of  ISTorth  America.  The 
war  had  cost  the  colonies  six 
teen  million  dollars.  Of  this 
vast  sum  the  British  govern 
ment  had  refunded  only  about 
five  millions.  Although  still 
suffering  from  the  effects  of 
the  war,  the  colonies  would  not 
have  been  unwilling  to  contrib 
ute  to  the  relief  of  the  mother 
country  had  England  asked 
them  to  vote  their  own  taxes. 

The   Stamp  Act  Congress.     1765. — Massachusetts   went   about 

In  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  he  was  the  first  to  spread  revolutionary  ideas 
and  enthusiasm.  He  protested  against  the  Stamp  Act,  and  played  an  important 
part  in  the  Continental  Congress  of  1774.  He  was  twice  elected  governor  of  Vir 
ginia.  He  has  been  named  "  the  orator  of  the  Revolution." 


126  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

the  matter  in  a  very  business-like  way.  In  June,  1765,  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  that  colony  passed  a  resolution 
asking  a  conference  of  the  colonies  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
England's  new  plan  of  colonial  taxation.  Nine  colonies 1  decided 
to  elect  delegates  to  the  conference,  which  met  in  New  York 
in  the  October  following.  The  conference  was  known  as  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress.2  During  a  session  of  nearly  three  weeks, 
the  question  of  taxation  was  thoroughly  discussed.  A  petition 
to  King  George  praying  for  justice  and  a  memorial  to  both 
houses  of  the  Parliament  were  adopted.  The  latter  document, 
The  entitled  "  The  Declaration  of  Eights  and  Grievances 

Declaration  of  the  Colonists  in  America,"  set  forth  in  strong 
of  Rights  language  the  colonial  sentiments  in  regard  to  taxa 
tion.  It  was  declared  essential  to  the  freedom  of  a  people 
and  the  rights  of  Englishmen  that  no  taxes  should  be  imposed 
on  them  except  with  their  own  consent.  The  declaration 
asserted :  — 

That  the  people  of  the  colonies  were  not  represented  in  the  House 
of  Commons  in  Great  Britain,  since  they  themselves  had 
no  vote  in  the  choice  of  its  members. 

That  no  taxes  could  be  constitutionally  imposed  on  them  but  by 
their  respective  legislatures. 

A  protest  was  made  against  the  Stamp  Act  and  other  recent 
obnoxious  acts  of  the  Parliament  which,  it  was  declared,  had 
"a  manifest  tendency  to  subvert  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
colonists."  The  proceedings  of  the  Congress  were  received  with 
favor  by  the  people,  and  the  "  Declaration  of  Eights  and  Griev 
ances"  was  forthwith  sent  to  England  as  an  expression  of  the 
feeling  then  prevailing  in  America. 

Increase  of  Popular  Indignation.  —  The  Stamp  Act  was  to  take 
effect  November  1,  1765,  and  as  the  day  drew  near  popular  indig- 

1  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Ehode  Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Maryland,  Delaware,  and  South  Carolina  sent  delegates  to  the  Stamp  Act 
Congress. 

2  Timothy  Ruggles  of  Massachusetts  was  chosen  president  of  the  Congress,  and 
among  its  prominent  members  were  James  Otis,  John  Dickinson,  Robert  Living 
ston,  Christopher  Gadsden,  and  Edward  Rutledge. 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES 


127 


nation  against  the  measure  greatly  increased.  Merchants  in  the 
leading  colonial  cities  signed  agreements  not  to  buy  any  goods  of 
England  while  the  Stamp  Act  was  in  force.  "  The  women,  ani 
mated  by  the  same  spirit,  united  with  the  men  in  their  exertions 
to  prevent  the  importation  of  English  goods."  Mobs  in  several 
cities  assaulted  the  stamp  officers  and  forced  them  to  resign  their 
commissions ;  and  boxes  of  stamps  which  had  come  from  En-gland 
were  seized  and  destroyed.  For  a  short  time  much  confusion  in 


The  TIMES  are 

Orta&ful. 
Sifnwl 
Dotehd 

Dolorous,  and 
DOLLAR-LESS. 


TburOqr.  OfM*  31.  1765  THE  NUMB.  1195. 

PENNSYLVANIA   JOURNAL; 

AND 

WEEKLY    ADVERTISER. 


EXPIRING:     In    Hopes  of  a    Refurrection  to  LIFE   again. 


M  ferry  to  be  obliged] 
to  acquaint   my  R< 
ers,thata»The5TA 
ACT.  .sfearMlobeob- 
|ig.U,ry    upon  ui   aft, 


fuing, 
rgv)   the  PubUfhcref  IhU  P«p»r  unable  to  , 


I  bear  the  Burthen,  has  thought  it  expedient(of  '"X  Subfcribers  many  of  whom  h*ve 
iherlnyMelhodYcan  be  found  to  elude  thelimmed;iUtly  Ditchvge  their  refpective  Ar 
Chains  forged  for  ua,  and  efcape  the  infup.|r"s  ttal  '  "»V  »e  able,  not  only  to 
ponabU  Slavery,  wh.ch  it  is  hoped,  from|faPP°rt  m>felf  durin?  <"«  Interval,  but 
the  raft  Reprefcntat.ons  now  made  agawftl1'*  ttr  Prefire<l  to  P™*"*  *&""  with 
that  AA,  may  be  effefled  Mean  v,h.l*,|ihis  ^P""'  whCTev«-  «•  opening  for  that 
1  n,uA  ^rnemy  Reou^  ever,  .nd-vdua,^^  ^P^^J^g",  J 


A  PENNSYLVANIA  NEWSPAPER  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT. 

business  affairs  resulted,  as  no  one  would  use  the  required  stamps 
on  the  various  documents.  Finally,  there  was  a  general  agree 
ment  that  unstamped  documents  should  be  received  as  valid. 
Thus  the  hated  stamp  law  was  practically  annulled  by  the 
colonists. 

The  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  1766.  —  An  act  to  repeal  the 
Stamp  Act  was  introduced  in  the  Parliament  in  1766.  The  cause 
of  the  Americans  was  advocated  by  William  Pitt,  then  member  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  He  contended  that,  while  the  Parliament 
had  the  power  to  legislate  generally  for  the  American  colonies,  it 


128  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

had  not  the  power  to  lay  internal  taxation  on  them  without  giving 
them  representation.1 

There  was  great  opposition  to  the  act  of  repeal,  and  for  a  time 
it  seemed  as  though  the  bill  would  fail  to  pass.  At  last  the  English 
merchants  and  manufacturers,  whose  trade  had  been  nearly  ruined 
by  the  refusal  of  the  Americans  to  buy  their  goods,  began  to  exert 
a  strong  influence  on  the  Parliament.  They  crowded  the  lobbies 
of  both  houses,  and  made  personal  appeals  to  the  members.  As  a 
result,  the  repeal  act  was  passed. 

The  Declaratory  Act.  1766.  —  When  the  Parliament  repealed 
the  Stamp  Act,  it  passed  what  is  known  as  the  Declaratory 
Act.  This  act  stated  the  sovereignty  of  the  Crown  over  the 
American  colonies,  and  declared:  — 

That  the  king,  with  the  advice  of  the  Parliament,  had  full  power 
to  make  laws  binding  America  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

That  the  acts  passed  by  the  colonial  assemblies  denying  to  the 
Parliament  the  power  to  tax  the  colonies  were  unlawful  and 
revolutionary. 

Thus  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  made  the  occasion  for  a 
strong  assertion  of  the  supreme  authority  of  the  king  and  the 
Parliament.  Nothing  had  been  gained  by  the  colonists  but  a 
temporary  relief  from  taxation. 

Taxation  by  the  Parliament.  1767.  —  The  Stamp  Act  and  the 
Declaratory  Act  proved  to  be  great  mistakes  on  the  part  of  the 
British  government.  Up  to  1765  the  colonial  legislative  bodies 
had  not  disputed  the  right  of  the  Parliament  to  lay  duties,  but 
now  they  took  the  position  that  if  the  British  government  wanted 
money  from  them,  the  levies  should  be  made  by  the  colonies 
themselves  and  not  by  the  Parliament  in  England.  If  the  king 
had  called  on  the  colonies  for  any  reasonable  amount  of  money, 
the  colonial  assemblies  would  have  raised  it  with  nothing  more 
than  the  usual  grumbling. 

Had  the  king  possessed  a  little  more  tact,  he  would  not  have 

1  He  said  :  "You  have  no  right  to  tax  America.  I  rejoice  that  America  has 
resisted.  Three  millions  of  our  fellow-subjects,  so  lost  to  every  sense  of  virtue  as 
tamely  to  give  up  their  liberties,  would  be  fit  instruments  to  make  slaves  of  the 
rest." 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT   OF  THE   COLONIES  129 

proposed  that  the  Parliament  raise  any  other  taxes  from  the 
American  colonies  after  the  failure  of  the  Stamp  Act.  How 
ever,  at  his  direction  duties  were  imposed,  in  1767, 
on  glass,  lead,  paper,  painters'  colors,  and  tea  brought 
into  the  colonial  ports  from  abroad.1  The  money  thus 
collected  was  to  be  used  to  pay  the  salaries  of  Crown  officers  in 
the  colonies,  and  to  support  a  standing  army.  This  plan  had  a 
Gunning  scheme  about  it  that  was  quickly  unmasked ;  it  not  only 
made  the  Crown  officials  independent  of  the  colonial  assemblies, 
but  it  encouraged  them  to  raise  as  large  a  sum  as  they  could. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  such  a  plan  was  even  more  hateful  to 
the  people  than  the  Stamp  Act  had  been,  and  they  were  quite  as 
determined  to  resist  it.  With  a  standing  army  in  their  midst  and 
Crown  officers  independent  of  the  colonial  assemblies,  the  colonies 
reasonably  concluded  that  they  would  have  but  little  power  of 
their  own.  Therefore,  in  retaliation,  American  merchants  stopped 
importing  the  taxed  articles  from  England.  They  smuggled  tea 
from  Holland  and  the  other  supplies  from  France  and  Spain,  in 
spite  of  the  best  efforts  of  the  customhouse  officers  to  prevent. 
So  the  smuggling  went  on  for  nearly  three  years. 

The  King  sends  Troops  to  America ;  the  Boston  Riot.  1770.  — 
About  this  time  (1770)  the  king's  ministers  unwisely  decided  to 
send  several  regiments  of  soldiers  to  America.  The  troops  were  to 
garrison  the  larger  towns  and  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  en 
force  the  king's  bidding.  What  was  still  more  unwise,  the  colo 
nies  were  ordered  to  provide  quarters  and  supplies  for  the  troops. 
When  the  troops  reached  America,  the  colonies  ignored  the  king's 
order,  and  as  punishment  their  legislative  assemblies  were  in 
nearly  every  case  dissolved  by  the  royal  governors. 

The  presence  of  the  troops  was  offensive,  and  it  was  unfortu 
nate  that  both  the  troops  and  the  colonists  forgot  their  good  man 
ners  when  they  came  in  contact  with  each  other.2  The  idlers  and 

1  These  tax  bills  were  called  the  Townshend  Acts  after  their  author. 

2  The  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  by  the  king's  troops  was  a  great  source  of 
irritation   to  the  colonists.    In  many  instances  church  services  were  purposely 
disturbed  by  drunken  soldiers.     A  wanton  and  unprovoked  assault  upon  James 
Otis,  made  by  British  officers,  probably  did.  quite  as  much  as  the  Boston  riot  to 
drive  Massachusetts  into  rebellion, 


130 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


loafers  were  only  too  glad  of  an  occasion  to  have  fisticuff  encoun 
ters  with  the  soldiers,  and  disgraceful  fights  were  of  almost  daily 

occurrence.  One  evening  in 
Boston  (March  5, 1770)  a  false 
alarm  of  fire  called  out  the 
usual  crowd.  There  happened 
to  be  a  sentinel  in  the  vicinity 
doing  duty  on  his  post  at  a 
public  building.  The  crowd 
jeered  and  annoyed  him  until 
he  was  compelled  to  call  for 
the  rest  of  the  guard.  When 
the  latter  appeared  they  were 
surrounded  by  a  hooting  mob, 
who  pelted  them  with  snow 
balls  and  prodded  them  with 
sticks.  In  the  excitement  one 
of  the  soldiers  fired,  and  im 
mediately  the  guard  followed 
KING  GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  with  a  volley  .  about  a  dozen 

men  were  killed  and  wounded.1    This  incident  did  much  toward 
precipitating  war.2 

The  Tea  Tax.  1770-1773.  —  At  last,  at  the  demand  of  the  Eng 
lish  merchants  and  manufacturers,  in  March,  1770,  the  duties 
on  everything  except  tea  were  removed.  The  duty  on  tea  was 
threepence  (six  cents)  a  pound.  Lord  North,  then  the  prime 
minister  of  England,  said  that  the  tea  tax  "  must  be  retained,  as 
a  mark  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Parliament  and  its  right  to 
govern  the  colonies."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  retention  of  this 
tax  increased  the  prevailing  bad  feeling. 

1  In  order  to  allay  popular  feeling,  the  soldiers  of  the  guard  were  tried  for 
murder.    Josiah  Quiricy  and  John  Adams  defended  them,  and  all  but  two  were 
acquitted.    Two  were  found  guilty  of  manslaughter. 

2  In  the  year  following  the  Boston  riot,  an  outbreak  occurred  at  Alamance  In 
North  Carolina,  where  a  pitched  battle  was  fought  in  resistance  to  excessive 
taxes  laid  by  the  governor.    The  colonial  force  was  defeated.     In  1772  a  number 
of  Rhode  Island  people  captured  and  burned  a  British  revenue  vessel,  the  Gaspee, 
which  had  been  collecting  duties  from  Providence  vessels. 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES 


131 


The  merchants  in  the  leading  American  cities  had  adhered 
strictly  to  their  policy  of  buying  no  tea  from  the  English  import 
ers,  known  as  the  East  India  Company.  This  company  supplied 
the  colonial  markets  with  the  products  of  the  Oriental  lands. 
To  obtain  the  tea  tax  a  simple  but  ingenious  plan  was  arranged 
whereby  the  company's  tea,  even  with  the  duty  of  six  cents  a 
pound  added  to  its  price,  would  be  cheaper  than  it  was  in  Eng 
land,  and  even  cheaper-  than  the  tea  smuggled  from  Holland. 
It  was  believed  that  the  cheapness  of  the  tea  would  induce  the 
Americans  to  buy  it,  in  spite  of  the  duty. 

The  plan  was  a  good  one,  but  it  failed  because  the  colonists 
were  determined  to  resist  the  king's  encroachments.  A  fleet 
of  ships  laden  with  tea  was  sent 
to  America  in  the  fall  of  1773,  but 
not  a  pound  of  the  tea  was  sold. 
When  some  of  the  tea  ships 
arrived  in  the  outer  harbors  of 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Baltimore,  they  met  with  so  much 
opposition  that  they  returned  to 
England  at  once.  At  Annapolis 
the  tea  was  burned.  Some  tea 
was  landed  at  Charleston  for  the 
Southern  markets,  but  the  people 
allowed  none  of  it  to  be  sold.  It 
was  stored  in  damp  cellars,  and 
soon  spoiled.  In  New  York  some 
of  the  tea  was  destroyed. 

When   the   tea   ships   entered    Boston    Harbor,   a    committee 
headed  by  Samuel  Adams  guarded  them  and  permitted  none  of 
the  tea  to  be  brought  on  shore.     As  the  ships  had 
come  within  the  port  limits,  they  could   not -legally    x^a  Party0 
depart   without   clearance1  from  the  customhouse  or 
a  permit  from  the  royal  governor  of  Massachusetts.     The  people 
made  diligent  efforts  to   obtain  a  clearance,  in  order   that   the 
ships  might   go  out  to  sea  again  without  unloading,  but  failed* 

1  A  clearance  was  a  certificate  granting  permission  to  sail. 


132  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  governor  declared  that  the  tea  should  be  entered  in  the 
customhouse ;  the  people  declared  that  it  should  not.  At  the 
expiration  of  twenty  days  the  customhouse  officers  had  the  right 
to  seize  the  ships  and  unload  them.  So  at  nightfall  a  number 
of  citizens  disguised  as  Indians  went  aboard  the  ships,  and  threw 
the  tea  into  the  water.  Three  hundred  and  forty-two  chests  of 
tea  were  thus  destroyed.  It  was  an  unlawful  act,  but  there  was 
great  exultation  over  it. 

The  King  Retaliates.  1774.  —  When  the  news  of  the  destruction 
of  the  tea  at  Boston  reached  England,  the  king  determined  to 
punish  the  rebellious  colonists  of  Massachusetts,  and  measures 
of  retaliation  were  enacted  by  the  Parliament.1  One  of  these, 
the  Boston  Port  Bill,  prohibited  the  landing  or  shipping  of  any 
goods  at  the  port  of  Boston  until  the  city  should  pay  tjie  East 
India  Company  for  the  tea  that  had  been  destroyed.  Thus  the 
port  was  entirely  closed  to  commerce,  and  great  suffering  resulted. 
By  another  measure  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  was  so  changed 
that  it  was  virtually  repealed.  The  seat  of  government  of  the 
colony  was  transferred  to  Salem,  and  the  ruling  power  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Crown  officials. 

The  whole  country  was  aroused  at  the  retaliatory  action  of  the 
king,  and  sympathy  and  aid  were  freely  given  to  the  people  of 
Massachusetts.  It  was  declared  that  the  cause  of  Massachusetts 
Committees  was  *^e  cause  °^  a^  tne  colonies,  and  all  should  unite 
of  Corre-  to  resist  the  dangerous  encroachments  of  the  English 
spondence  government.  The  colonies  had  already  begun  to  act  in 
unison.  Committees  of  correspondence  had  been  appointed  in  the 
various  colonies,  and  they  developed  a  regular  system  for  reporting 
actions  and  exchanging  opinions  as  to  methods  of  resisting  the 
Parliament.2 

1  The  measures  adopted  by  the  Parliament  are  commonly  known  as  the  Five 
Intolerable  Acts.    They  closed  the  port  of  Boston,  gave  the  governor  power  to 
send  certain  offenders  to  England  for  trial,  changed  the  charter  of  Massachusetts, 
legalized  the  quartering  of  soldiers  on  the  colonists,  and  practically  extended 
the  boundaries  of  Quebec  over  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

2  Committees  of  correspondence  were  first  established  between  towns  in  Massa 
chusetts,  according  to  a  plan  of  Samuel  Adams.    The  suggestion  that  permanent 
committees  of  correspondence  be  appointed  in  all  the  colonies  was  made  by 
Dabney  Carr  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  in  1773. 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE   COLONIES 


133 


The   First   Continental  Congress.     1774.  —  The  people  of  every 
section  saw  that  the  misfortune  which  had  come  to  Massachusetts 
might  come  to  any  other  colony  which  should  oppose  the  demands 
of  the  king.    They  began  to  realize  that  they  must  unite.    Alone, 
they  were  powerless;  united,  they  might  be  able  to  accomplish 
much.     The  colonial 
leaders,     having     a 
strong  desire  to  meet 
with  one  another  and 
confer  about  the  situ 
ation,  made  arrange 
ments  for  a  colonial 
congress.        It     was 
thought  that  a  good 
plan  of  action  might 
be  devised  by  an  as 
sembly  of  this  kind. 
In  September,  1774, 
the  first  Continental 
Congress    met    in 
secret  session  in  Phil 
adelphia,  in  a  small 
hall  belonging  to  the 
Society  of  Carpenters. 
Afl  the  colonies,  ex 
cept     Georgia,     had 
elected     delegates. 
The    delegates  were 
directed  "to  consider  the   most  effectual  manner  of  regulating 
the  commercial  connection   with  the  mother   country,  so  as  to 
procure  redress  for  Massachusetts,  and  also  to  procure  the  return 
of  harmony  and  union."  l 

1  The  Congress  was  composed  of  able  men.  Among  the  more  distinguished 
members  were  George  Washington,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Patrick  Henry,  and 
Peyton  Randolph  of  Virginia  ;  Samuel  and  John  Adams  of  Massachusetts  ;  John 
Dickinson  and  Thomas  Mifflin  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Roger  Sherman  of  Connecticut  ; 
Stephen  Hopkins  of  Rhode  Island;  Samuel  Chase  and  Thomas  Jefferson  of  Mary 
land  ;  Caesar  Rodney  of  Delaware ;  Edward  Rutledge  and  Christopher  Gadsdeu 


CARPENTERS'  HALL,  PHILADELPHIA. 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Declaration  of  Rights.  —  The  Congress  passed  a  resolution 
approving  of  the  conduct  of  Massachusetts  ;  it  passed  also  the 
Declaration  of  Rights,  a  memorial  setting  forth  the  rights  and 
privileges  claimed  by  the  people.  It  asserted  :  — 

That  the  people  of  the  colonies  were  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and 
property ;  and  that  they  had  never  ceded  to  a  sovereign  power 
the  right  to  dispose  of  any  of  these,  with  or  without  their 
consent. 

That  the  right  of  England  to  raise  a  revenue  in  America  by 
any  plan  of  taxation  was  most  emphatically  denied. 

That  the  people  of  the  colonies  were  entitled  to  the  common 
law  of  England,  and  especially  to  trial  by  a  jury,  and  to  all 
the  privileges  granted  them  by  royal  charters. 

Two  of  the  foregoing  claims  are  worthy  of  attention.  At  first 
the  colonists  were  not  opposed  to  paying  taxes  which  were  levied 
by  themselves,  but  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  king  meant 
to  use  the  money  thus  raised  to  pay  Crown  officials  and  to  sup 
port  the  troops  in  America,  there  quickly  grew  up  a  determination 
to  pay  no  taxes  whatever.  The  second  notable  claim  referred  to 
trial  by  jury,  and  was  brought  about  by  the  passage  in  the  Par 
liament  of  the  Transportation  Bill,  one  of  the  Five  Intolerable 
Acts.  This  act  gave  the  royal  governor  of  a  colony  the  right  to 
send  to  England  for  trial  any  one  accused  of  the  killing  of  a 
Crown  officer,  while  the  latter  was  trying  to  enforce  the  laws. 

It  was  generally  agreed  in  the  Congress  that  the  colonists 
should  try  only  peaceful  measures  to  bring  about  a  more  reason- 
The  Non-  a^e  P°^icy  on  the  part  of  the  king  and  his  ministers, 
importation  The  plan  actually  followed,  however,  served  only 
Agreement  ^Q  exasperate  the  Crown  government.  The  colonies 
bound  themselves  to  import  no  more  merchandise  from  England, 
and  no  tea,  coffee,  and  spices  from  English  colonies.  It  was 
thought  that  the  loss  of  colonial  trade  would  result  in  the  over 
throw  of  the  king's  ministry,  or  force  it  to  be  more  lenient. 

The  people  of  the  colonies,  both  North  and  South,  fully  ap 
proved  the  measures  of  the  Congress.  They  regarded  them  as 

of  South  Carolina;  and  John  Jay  and  Philip  Livingston  of  New  York.  Peyton 
Randolph  was  chosen  president  of  the  Congress,  and  Charles  Thomson  of  Phila 
delphia,  secretary. 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES 


135 


moderate  in  sentiment  and  fair.  No  authority  had  been  given 
to  the  delegates  to  do  anything  but  recommend  an  efficient  plan 
of  action.  They  were  given  no  such  power  as  they  exercised. 
But  their  recommendations  were  accepted  by  the  colonies,  and 
the  friendly  league  they  called  for  was  entered  into  readily. 
By  bringing  the  colonies  into  association,  the  Congress  was 
an  important  step  toward  the  formation  of  a  permanent 
federation. 

The  King  decides  to  coerce  the  Colonies ;  the  English  View.  —  In 
a  few  weeks  after  the  Congress  adjourned,  the  Declaration  of 
Rights  and  other  papers  of  the  Con 
gress  were  laid  before  the  British 
Parliament  and  discussed  in  both 
houses.  In  the  House  of  Lords, 
William  Pitt,  the  Earl  of  Chatham, 
urged  liberal  measures  for  the  colo 
nies,  saying:  "The  way  must  be 
immediately  opened  for  reconcilia 
tion,  or  it  will  soon  be  too  late.  His 
Majesty  may  indeed  wear  his  crown ; 
but  the  American  jewel  out  of  it,  it 
will  not  be  worth  the  wearing."  But 
all  the  attempts  made  by  Chatham 
and  the  other  friends  of  the  colonies 
to  repeal  the  obnoxious  acts  were 
unsuccessful.  The  Parliament  also 
declared  that  the  colonists  had  long  de 
sired  to  become  independent  of  Great 
Britain,  and  had  "  only  waited  for  op 
portunity  to  accomplish  their  purpose." 
Therefore  it  was  the  duty  of  every 
Englishman  "to  crush  the  revolt,"  and 
this  must  be  done  "  at  any  price." 

It  was  pointed  out  that  the  colonists  were  as  much  represented 
in  the  Parliament  as  were  Englishmen  living  in  Eng-    Representa- 
land.     This  was  true,  inasmuch  as  the  great  mass  of    tion 
colonists,  being  regarded  as  commoners,  were  represented  as  a 


136  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

class  in  the  House  of  Commons.1  Therefore  they  ought  to  be 
satisfied  to  pay  the  Crown  tax  imposed  in  the  same  manner 
as  it  was  in  England. 

The  question  of  trial  by  jury  was  a  more  serious  one,  and  was 
the  outcome  of  the  smuggling  that  had  been  going  on  in  the 

colonies  for  more  than  a  century.     From  the  time  the 
by         navigation  laws  had  been  passed,  smuggling  had  been 

practiced  in  every  colony,  and,  although  a  crime,  it 
was  not  considered  either  a  sin  or  a  vice.  When  the  Crown 
officers  began  in  earnest  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  they  found  it  almost 
impossible  to  do  so.  Violators  of  the  law  were  arrested  and 
tried  ;  but  it  was  not  often  that  a  jury  would  convict,  no  matter 
how  clear  the  evidence.  Even  when  revenue  officers  were  killed 
or  wounded  by  smugglers,  it  was  always  difficult  and  sometimes 
impossible  to  secure  a  conviction.  It  was  for  this  reason,  there 
fore,  that  the  Parliament  gave  to  the  royal  governors  the  power 
to  send  to  England  or  to  another  colony  for  trial  a  person  charged 
with  murder  in  resisting  the  laws. 

SUMMARY 

England  attempted  to  levy  an  internal  tax  on  the  colonists,  instead  of 
permitting  the  colonists  themselves  to  provide  the  funds  and  determine 
the  method  of  levying  the  tax. 

The  king's  plan  of  levying  the  tax  by  means  of  revenue  stamps  on  pub 
lications  and  documents  failed,  because  the  colonists  refused  to  use  the 
stamps. 

1  At  that  time,  individual  representation  in  England  was  not  practiced ;  that  is, 
political  divisions,  such  as  counties  and  shires,  did  not  of  necessity  constitute  elec 
tion  districts,  as  they  are  known  to-day.  Large  cities,  like  Liverpool,  Manchester, 
and  others,  did  not  have  a  single  representative  in  the  Parliament.  Classes, 
not  localities,  were  represented.  The  clergy  and  the  Church  were  represented  by 
bishops ;  the  nobility,  by  members  of  the  House  of  Lords ;  the  great  middle  class, 
or  commoners,  by  members  elected  to  the  House  of  Commons.  This  plan  of  rep 
resentation  had  been  followed  for  many  generations  in  England,  and  Englishmen 
knew  no  other.  Inasmuch  as  it  was  satisfactory  to  them,  they  could  not  under 
stand  why  it  was  not  good  enough  for  the  colonists.  On  the  other  hand,  to  the 
democracy  of  the  colonists,  which  grew  out  of  the  geographic  surroundings  in 
which  they  lived,  such  a  scheme  of  representation  was  no  representation  at  all. 
Each  was  right  fronj  his  own  standpoint. 


THE  ESTRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COLONIES  137 

Nine  colonies  sent  delegates  to  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  which  passed 
a  "  Declaration  of  Rights,"  protesting  against  the  levy  of  taxes  on  the 
colonists  unless  the  latter  were  to  have  representatives  in  the  Parliament. 

The  Stamp  Act  was  repealed  by  the  Parliament,  but  the  Crown  levied 
another  tax  on  tea,  in  order  to  hold  to  the  principle  that  the  Crown 
had  the  right  to  tax  the  colonies. 

The  colonies  refused  to  admit  tea  at  the  various  ports,,  and  the  Parlia 
ment  passed  the  Five  Intolerable  Acts  as  a  punishment. 

The  First  Continental  Congress  met  in  1774  and  presented- to  the 
king  a  Declaration  of  Rights  stating  the  rights  claimed  by  the  colonists. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

The  American  Revolution  —  Fiske.     Chapters  I,  II. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  Ill,  Chapter  VI. 

The  Story  of  Liberty  —  Coffin.     (For  popular  reading.) 


CHAPTER  X 


THE- REVOLT  AND  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

Massachusetts  resists  the  King's  Orders.  1774-1775.  —  During 
the  winter  of  1774-1775,  the  relations  between  the  colonies  and  the 
British  government  began  to  assume  a  warlike  aspect.  After 
the  Parliament  had  rejected  Pitt's  efforts  to  make  peace,  King 
George  and  his  ministers  manifested  a  disposition  to  quell  the 
revolt  in  the  colonies  by  military  force.  The  king's  army  in 
the  colonies  was  increased,  and  a  fleet  of 
war  ships  was  sent  to  American  waters. 

In  Massachusetts  the  royal  government 
had  been  practically  set  aside.    The  people 
had  refused  to  accept  the  changes  made 
by  the  Parliament  in  their  ancient  charter. 
They  had  forced  the  resignation  of  the 
councilors   appointed    by   the    king   and 
had  closed  the  king's  courts.    The  General 
Court,  or  assembly  of  the  colony,  having 
been  dissolved  by  the  king's  orders,  the 
members  formed  a  Provincial  Congress, 
which  assumed  control  of  public  affairs 
and  provided  for  the  equipment  of  twelve 
thousand  militia  to  defend  the  colony  from 
attack.     One  fourth  of  the  militia  were 
to  be  " minutemen,"  ready  to  march  "at 
a  minute's  warning." 
The  king  appointed  General  Gage,  commander  of  the  British 
troops  in  America,  as  military  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
latter  established  himself   in  Boston  with  about  three  thousand 
soldiers.     Outside  of  Boston  and  the  near-by  towns,  however,  he 

138 


From  the  statue  at  Concord. 
A  MlNUTEMAN. 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     139 

had  but  little  authority,  as  the  remainder  of  the  colony  fully 
supported  the  Provincial  Congress  and  ignored  his  orders. 

All  the  other  Northern  and  some  of  the  Southern  colonies  were 
in  sympathy  with  the  defiant  attitude  of  Massachusetts.  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  set  aside  the  royal  governments  and  formed 
provisional  governments. 

In  February,  1775,  the  Parliament  declared  Massachusetts 
in  rebellion,  restricted  her  commerce,  and  shut  out  her  fishermen 
from  the  Newfoundland  fisheries.  The  commercial  restrictions 
were  subsequently  extended  to  all  the  colonies,  except  New  York 
and  South  Carolina. 


STAND  VOURCRO 

OOHT  FIRE  UNLESS  FIR 

T  if  THEY   MEAN  TO  I 

LET   IT  BEC'Ki    Hi 


WHERE  THE  FIRST  SHOT  WAS  FIRED  AT  LEXINGTON. 


The  Skirmish  at  Lexington  and  Concord.  April  19,  1775. —  In 
April,  1775,  General  Gage  was  informed  that  the  Provincial  Con 
gress  of  Massachusetts  had  collected  a  quantity  of  military  stores 
at  Concord,  and  he  determined  to  seize  them.  Previously,  he  had 
received  orders  from  England  to  arrest  Samuel  Adams  and  John 
Hancock,  the  distinguished  Massachusetts  leaders,  for  so-called 
treasonable  utterances,  and  to  send  them  to  England  for  trial. 
He  learned  that  they  were  at  Lexington,  a  small  village  eleven 
miles  from  Boston,  on  the  highway  to  Concord,  six  miles 
farther. 


140  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

During  the  night  of  April  18,  Gage  sent  from  Boston  eight 
hundred  soldiers  with  orders  to  seize  Adams  and  Hancock  at 
Lexington,  and  the  military  stores  at  Concord.  The  departure  of 
the  soldiers  was  discovered,  and  Paul  Revere  was  sent  on  a  swift 
horse  to  give  warning  of  their  approach.  Revere  aroused  the 
people  everywhere,  and  reached  Lexington  considerably  in  ad 
vance  of  the  soldiers.  Adams  and  Hancock  fled  to  a  place  of 
safety.  Revere  was  arrested  near  Concord,  but  his  warning 
reached  there,  and  the  military  stores  were  securely  hidden. 

At  dawn  011  the  19th,  Gage's  soldiers  reached  Lexington.     On 

the  village  green  were   about  seventy  minutemen  drawn  up  to 

oppose  them.     Major  Pitcairn,  the  British  commander, 

ordered   them    to   disperse,  but  they   did  not   obey. 

Then  the  British  troops  fired  a  volley  into  their  ranks,  killing 

seven  and  wounding  nine.     The  fire  was  returned  in  a  scattering 

way,  but  did  little  or  no  harm.     The  minutemen  saw  that  it  would 

be  foolish  to  give  battle  to  so  large 
a  force  and  therefore  retreated. 

The  troops  proceeded  to  Con 
cord.  They  did  not  find  the  mili 
tary  stores,  but  they  seized  and 
destroyed  some  supplies  of  flour 
and  a  few  abandoned  gun  car 
riages.  Three  companies  advanced 
to  North  Bridge,  where  The  retreat 
they  were  attacked  by  from 
minutemen.  Then  the  Concord 
whole  force  began  to  retreat  in 
disorder.  The  retreat  became  a 
panic.  The  minutemen  followed 
almost  to  Boston,  firing  with 
deadly  effect  from  the  shelter  of 
trees  and  walls.  About  three 
hundred  were  killed,  including 
fifty  minutemen,  before  the  troops  reached  Boston. 

The  news  of  the  conflict  of  arms  was  carried  rapidly  over  New 
England,  and  in  a  few  days  sixteen  thousand  militia  had  assem- 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     141 

bled  around  Boston.  The  Middle  and  Southern  colonies  were 
startled  by  the  bloodshed  in  Massachusetts,  and  began  to  prepare 
for  war  with  energy  and  determination.  This  was  the  condition 
of  affairs  when  the  second  Continental  Congress  began  its  session 
at  Philadelphia,  on- May  10,  1775. 

The  Second  Congress.  1775.  —  Delegations  from  all  the  colonies 
were  present  during  the  session  of  the  second  Congress,  which 
met  (May,  1775)  in  Philadelphia  in  the  building  then  called  the 
State  House,  but  now  known  as  Independence  Hall,  because  there 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed.  Washington,  the 
Adamses,  Lee,  Sherman,  Henry,  Dickinson,  and  most  of  the  other 
prominent  members  of  the  first  Continental  Congress  were  present 
in  the  second.  Among  the  new  members  were  Benjamin  Franklin  l 
and  John  Hancock,  who  became  its  president.  With  little  real 
authority  to  act  for  the  United  Colonies,  but  with  the  tacit  con 
sent  of  the  people,  the  Congress  set  up  a  revolutionary  govern 
ment.  It  was  necessary  for  the  Congress  to  assume  governmental 
powers  ;  it  took  upon  itself  much  the  same  authority  as  the  British 
Crown  had  previously  exercised  in  the  colonies.2 

Committees  were  appointed  to  have  charge  of  the  several  execu 
tive  departments,  and  they  went  to  work  speedily.  Arrangements 
were  made  for  the  enlistment  of  troops  from  all  the  colonies,  the 

1  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  (1706-1790)  was  born  at  Boston.     At  an  early  age  he 
engaged  in  the  printer's  trade ;   in   1729  he  went  to  Philadelphia  and  edited 
the  Pennsylvania  Gazette.    He  later  founded  the  Philadelphia  library  and  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.      In  1752  he  made   the  important  discovery  that 
lightning  is  a  discharge  of  electricity.     He  served  as  deputy  postmaster-general 
for  the  colonies  from  1753  to  1774.     In  1775  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Con 
tinental  Congress.     He  was  instrumental  in  concluding  the  treaty  by  which 
France  acknowledged  the  independence  of  America  in  1788,  and  the  treaty  of 
peace  with  England  in  1783.     He  ranks  with  Washington  as  a  founder  of  the 
American  nation. 

2  Although  the  colonists  had  engaged  in  battle  with  the  British  and  were  mak 
ing  extensive  preparations  for  war,  the  Congress  decided  to  send  another  address 
to  King  George,  entreating  him  to  deal  justly  with  the  colonies.     This  rather 
singular  step  was  taken  in  order  to  satisfy  the  conservative  members  of  the  Con 
gress,  such  as  John  Jay  and  John  Dickinson,  who  thought  that  one  more  attempt 
should  be  made  at  reconciliation  with  England.    Dickinson  wrote  the  address, 
which  he  called  an  "  Olive  Branch."    The  king  answered  it  by  declaring  that  the 
Americans  were  rebels  and  traitors  and  must  be  forced  to  submit  to  the  rule. of 
the  British  Crown.  * 


142 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


whole  to  form  the  Continental  army.  Arms  and  military  supplies 
were  ordered  from  foreign  countries.  The  sixteen  thousand  New 
The  England  militia,  encamped  around  Boston,  were  drafted 

Continental  into  the  government  service.  Colonel  George  Wash- 
army  ington l  was  appointed  general  and  commander-in-chief 

of  the  Continental  army.  Washington  was  selected  for  the 
command  partly  as  a  compliment  to  Virginia,  but  mainly  on  ac 
count  of  his  services  in  the  French  and  Indian  War.  In  the  com 
mission  he  received  from  the  Congress  the  expression,  "United 
Colonies/'  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  an  official  document. 

The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.     June  17,  1775.  — The  politic  General 
Gage  seemed  anxious  to  avoid  the  beginning  of  hostilities  as  long 

as  there  was  the 
slightest  prospect  of 
restoring  peace.  The 
skirmish  at  Lexing 
ton  and  the  fight 
on  the  retreat  from 
Concord,  however, 
put  an  end  to  all 
thought  of  peace, 
and  Gage  at  once 
began  measures  of 
a  warlike  character. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  AROUND  BOSTON,  1775-1776. 


Across  a  stretch  of  water  —  now  quite  narrow,  but  then  half  a 
mile  wide  —  north  of  Boston  Neck,  is  Charlestown  Neck,  on  which 

1  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  (1732-1799)  was  the  son  of  a  Virginia  planter.  He  dis 
tinguished  himself  as  an  able  and  intrepid  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  War. 
He  was  chosen  delegate  from  Virginia  to  the  Continental  Congress  of  1774  and 
1775.  On  June  15, 1775,  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  Continental 
forces,  and  he  remained  in  command  to  the  close  of  the  Revolution  in  1781.  He 
then  retired  to  his  farm  at  Mt.  Vernon.  From  there  he  was  called,  in  February, 
1789,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  to  become  the  first  President  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  inaugurated  at  New  York,  April  30, 1789.  Reflected  in  1793,  he  continued 
to  serve  as  the  head  of  the  new  nation  until  1797.  The  remaining  two  years  of 
his  life  were  spent  at  his  Mt.  Vernon  home.  He  was  a  man  preeminently  calm 
and  just  and  incorruptible.  It  was  due  largely  to  his  personal  leadership  that 
the  Revolution  succeeded,  and  to  his  integrity  of  character  that  the  new  govern 
ment  stood  firm. 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     143 

are  Bunker  Hill  and  Breeds  Hill.  These  hills  overlooked  the 
harbor  and  pra'ctically  commanded  it  ;  hence  it  was  necessary  to 
the  safety  of  the  British  fleet  that  they  should  be  fortified,  and 
General  Gage  was  about  to  undertake  the  work.  The  intention 
was  discovered,  however,  and  the  colonial  authorities  sent  Colonel 
Prescott  with  twelve  hundred  men  to  take  possession  of  the  heights. 
The  troops  worked  rapidly  during  the  night  (June  16),  and  their 
presence  was  not  known  until  morning. 

At  dawn  General  Gage  saw  with  chagrin  that  he  had  been  out- 
maneuvered.  The  British  fleet  opened  fire,  but  the  shots  made  no 
difference  to  the  Continental  soldiers  ;  they  kept  on  until  a  line  of 
entrenchments  was  nearly  complete.  General  Gage  sent  a  force 
of  about  three  thousand  men,  under  General  Howe,  across  from 
Boston.  The  British  troops  charged  the  steepest  side  of  the  hill, 
and  when  they  were  only  a  few  feet  from  the  breastworks  a  gall 
ing  fire  raked  them  with  a  terrible  effect.  They  retreated,  but 
re-formed  and  charged  again. 

With  the  third  volley  the  powder  of  the  Americans  was  ex 
hausted,  and  the  battle  became  a  hand-to-hand  conflict,  in  which 
the  Americans  were  obliged  to  rely  on  "  gun-clubbing  "  as  the 
only  means  of  defense.  Then,  having  lost  more  than  one  third 
of  their  number,  they  fell  back  and  retreated  over  the  neck  to 
the  mainland.  The  British  loss  was  nearly  eleven  hundred  ;  the 
colonists  lost  about  four  hundred.1 

The  moral  effect  of  the  battle  was  very  great.  The  American 
troops  learned  that  as  fighters  they  were  equal  to  the  pick  of  the 
British  troops  ;  the  latter  also  learned  the  same  lesson, 


and   it   was   a   disagreeable  surprise   to   them.     The  ( 


skirmish  at  Lexington  and  Concord  and  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  brought  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  colonists  to  the 
attention  of  Europe.     Vergennes,  a  noted  French  diplomat,  de 
clared  that  two  more  such  British  victories  would  leave  England 
without  a  colonial  army.2 

1  Among  the  dead  were  the  gallant  General  Warren,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Massachusetts  militia,  and  the  English  Major  Pitcairu,  the  leader  of  the  attack 
on  Lexington  and  Concord. 

2  The  Parliament  passed  an  act  (August  23,  1775)  declaring  the  colonies  in 
rebellion  and  prohibiting  all  commerce  with  them.      Great  preparations  were 


144  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Washington  takes  Command.  1775.  —  On  July  2,  1775,  fifteen 
days  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  General  Washington  took 
command  of  the  army  around  Boston.  By  this  time  many  of  the 
minutemen  and  some  of  the  militiamen  had  returned  to  their 
homes,  their  term  of  service  having  expired.  About  three  thou 
sand  men  from  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  were  added 
to  the  army,  making  it  nearly  nine  thousand  strong.  It  was  a 
wretched  condition  of  things  that  Washington  found.  The  men 
had  no  idea  of  discipline  nor  military  training ;  they  were  with 
out  sufficient  arms;  there  was  neither  quartermaster's  stores 
for  clothing  and  equipment,  nor  commissary  department  to  look 
after  food  supplies.  Washington  not  only  overcame  these  diffi 
culties,  but  he  kept  the  British  army  shut  up  in  Boston  in  the 
meantime. 

It  was  evident  that  prompt  measures  must  be  taken  to  save 
Boston  and  New  York  City.  To  do  this  — 

The  British  were  to  be  prevented  from  invading  New  York  from 
Canada  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain. 

General  Gage  was  to  be  kept  in  Boston  for  the  time  being. 

The  Invasion  of  Canada.  1775.  —  In  order  to  prevent  an  invasion 
from  Canada,  Washington  proposed  to  capture  Montreal  and 
Quebec.  One  detachment  under  Richard  Montgomery  went  north 
by  way  of  Ticonderoga  and  captured  Montreal;  another  under 
Benedict  Arnold  marched  through  the  pine  forests  of  Maine,  and 
after  terrible  suffering  reached  Quebec,  where  the  two  forces  joined. 

On  the  last  day  of  December,  1775,  Quebec  was  attacked  on 
two  sides,  and  a  desperate  battle  took  place.  Montgomery  actually 
entered  the  city,  but  was  killed.  Arnold  was  severely  wounded. 
The  plucky  Colonel  Daniel  Morgan,  with  his  Virginia  companies, 
also  entered  the  town,  but  not  having  any  support,  he  was 
surrounded  and  captured.  Shortly  afterward  the  British  were 
reenforced  and  the  Americans  were  pushed  back  to  Crown  Point 
on  Lake  Champlain. 

made  to  subdue  the  colonies,  and  for  that  purpose  a  British  army  of  twenty-five 
thousand  soldiers  was  ordered  to  cross  the  Atlantic  at  once.  In  addition  to  this 
great  force  about  twenty  thousand  Hessians  were  hired  from  German  princes. 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     145 

The  Escape  of  the  British  from  Boston.  1776.  —  While  Washing 
ton  was  drilling  his  army,  he  was  also  drawing  his  lines  closely 
around  Boston.  All  this  time  he  was  censured  for  not  giving  battle 
to  the  British.  Many  wished  him  to  set  -fire  to  the  city.  Wash 
ington  stood  the  abuse  patiently  and  watched  for  his  opportunity. 
Among  other  disadvantages  was  the  fact  that  he  had  no  cannon,  and 
without  them  he  felt  helpless  in  making  any  offensive  movement. 


From  the  painting  by  Wagcman. 

LORD  HOWE'S  ARMY  EVACUATING  BOSTON. 

By  the  1st  of  March,  however,  cannon  had  been  dragged  to  the 
scene  of  action  on  sledges  —  many  of  them  from  Fort  Ticonderoga l 
—  and  the  time  for  attack  had  come.  On  the  night  of  the  4th  of 
March,  while  the  British  were  kept  busy  repelling  a  sham  attack, 
two  thousand  men,  with  spades  and  picks,  ox  carts,  and  bales  of 
hay,  were  throwing  up  fortifications  on  Dorchester  Heights,  a  little 
to  the  southeast  of  Boston.  And  when  General  Howe  woke  up 
the  following  morning,  he  found  himself  in  a  trap.  The  siege 

1  Ethan  Allen  of  Vermont  and  Benedict  Arnold  of  Connecticut,  with  a  small 
body  of  volunteers,  surprised  and  captured  the  strong  fortress  of  Ticonderoga, 
with  its  supply  of  powder  and  cannon  (May,  1775). 


146  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

guns  on  Dorchester  Heights  were  ready  for  business.  Not  only 
his  army  but  the  fleet  as  well  were  at  the  mercy  of  Washington, 
General  Howe  had  his  choice :  he  could  fight  or  get  to  sea.  His 
men,  however,  had  not  forgotten  Bunker  Hill;  he  quickly  got 
aboard  his  ships  and  made  for  Halifax. 

Headquarters  transferred  to  New  York.  —  Washington  felt  sure 
that  sooner  or  later  General  Howe  would  attack  New  York  City, 
and  he  moved  his  troops  there  with  little  delay.  By  April  he 
was  encamped  on  Brooklyn  Heights,  Long  Island.  These  move 
ments  ended  the  war  operations  in  the  New  England  colonies. 
New  York  became  the  center  of  the  next  campaign. 

The  Beginning  of  the  Navy.  —  While  these  operations  were  going 
on,  the  Congress  ordered  the  fitting  out  of  vessels  to  cruise  in 
the  New  England  waters  and  intercept  ships  carrying  military 
stores  for  the  British.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  Continental 
navy,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Esek  Hopkins  of  Ehode 
Island.  In  retaliation  for  an  act  of  the  Parliament  which  had 
authorized  the  capture  and  condemnation  of  American  ships, 
the  Congress  gave  authority  to  public  and  private  armed  vessels l 
to  seize  British  ships  and  goods  found  upon  the  high  seas. 

Preparations  for  the  Conflict.  —  Two  million  dollars  of  paper 
money,  known  as  bills  of  credit  or  Continental  currency,  were 
issued  by  the  Congress  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war  and 
to  maintain  the  national  government.  The  United  Colonies  were 
pledged  to  pay  the  face  value  of  these  bills  in  gold  or  silver  in 
from  four  to  seven  years.2 

The  ports  of  the  United  Colonies  were  opened  to  the  vessels  of 
all  nations  except  Great  Britain. 

A  treasury  department  and  a  general  post-office  for  the  United 
Colonies  were  established  by  the  Congress,  and  diplomatic  rela 
tions  were  entered  into  with  foreign  nations. 

Fighting  in  North  Carolina.  1776.  —  After  the  disastrous  victory 
at  Bunker  Hill,  the  king  did  not  attempt  to  send  any  more  troops 
to  Massachusetts.  Orders  had  been  given  for  the  landing  of  the 

1  Armed  vessels  owned  ana  officered  by  private  persons,  but  acting  under  a 
commission  from  the  government,  are  called  privateers. 

2  See  page  1730 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     147 


British  transports  in  the  estuary  of  Cape  Fear  Kiver.  The  royal 
governor  of  North  Carolina  determined  to  cooperate  with  the 
British  forces,  and  raised  about  sixteen  hundred  men  for  the 
purpose.  But  his  plans  went  badly  awry.  There  were  minute- 
men  in  North  Carolina;  Colonel  Richard  Caswell,  having  gathered 
about  one  thousand  of  them,  fell  on  the  governor's  troops  at 
Moores  Creek  (February  27,  1776).  He  captured  most  of  the 
troops,  together  with  fifteen  thousand  pounds  in  gold  and  two 
thousand  muskets.  Within  a  few  days  ten  thousand  men  had 
enrolled  to  defend  North  Carolina,  and  the  British  forces  did 
not  dare  to  land.  The  colony  was  ready  to  declare  for  inde 
pendence. 

The  Burning  of  Norfolk.  1775-1776.  —  In  November,  1775,  Lord 
Duhmore,  the  governor  of  Virginia,  issued  a  proclamation  calling 
all  slaves  and  indentured  white 
servants  to  take  arms  against  the 
colonists.  The  only  result  was  to 
enrage  the  colonists.  Hearing  that 
North  Carolina  minutemen  were 
about  to  march  on  Norfolk,  Dunmore 
built  a  fort  at  Elizabeth  River  and 
established  a  force  of  the  king's 
troops  to  hold  it.  This  added  to 

the  intense  hatred  for  Dunmore  to     THE  RATTLESNAKE   FLAG,   CAR- 
.  .      ,          „      RIED  BY  VIRGINIA  MINUTEMEN. 

such    an    extent    that    a    body   of 

Virginia  minutemen  pounced  upon  the  fort,  killed  about  sixty 
troops,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight — all  without  the  loss  of  a 
minute  man. 

Lord  Dunmore  then  escaped  to  the  British  warship  Liverpool. 
On  New  Year's  Day,  1776,  he  entered  the  port  of  Norfolk,  turned 
the  Liverpool's  guns  upon  the  city,  and  soon  had  it  in  flames.  It 
was  a  wanton  act,  for  Norfolk  had  been  loyal  to  the  king  up  to 
that  time.  After  that  event  there  was  no  question  as  to  the 
attitude  of  Virginia.  Some  six  months  later  Dunmore  waa  driven 
out  of  the  state. 

The  Attack  on  Charleston.  1776.  —  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
sailed  south  from  Massachusetts  with  two  thousand  men,  and  in 


148  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

May,  1776,  his  flee4:  was  strengthened  by  the  ships  and  troops 
from  Great  Britain.  The  force  was  then  thought  to  be  strong 
enough  to  attempt  a  landing  at  Charleston.  The  colonists  under 
Colonel  Moultrie  had  built  a  fort  of  palmetto  trunks  and  sand  at 
Sullivan's  Island,  a  point  which  commanded  the  harbor.  Through 
a  piece  of  stupidity,  the  British  troops  were  landed  in  a  swamp 
where  they  were  helpless  arid  the  fire  from  their  ships  was  harm 
less.  When  the  fight  of  ten  hours  was  over,  the  British  ships 
were  so  badly  battered  that  only  one  of  the  ten  ships  was  fit  for 
service.  Ships  and  troops  thereupon  returned  to  New  York. 

The  Demand  for  Independence.  —  From  the  very  beginning  of  the 
trouble  about  taxation,  a  few  of  the  leading  colonists  had  advo 
cated  separation  from  the  mother  country.  There  was  no  appar 
ent  desire,  however,  among  the  masses  of  the  American  people  to 
separate  from  the  country  to  which  they  had  so  long  given  alle 
giance  and  for  which  they  had  genuine  affection.  But  with  the 
news  that  a  large  army  had  been  sent  to  subdue  them,  the  people 
began  to  realize,  for  the  first  time,  the  need  of  separation  if  they 
were  to  preserve  their  freedom. 

At  first  they  resisted  taxation  and  the  various  usurpations  of 
George  III  with  the  feeling  that  resistance  would  speedily  cause 
their  grievances  to  be  redressed.  They  were  loyal  subjects,  but, 
like  the  freemen  from  whom  they  were  descended,  they  were 
prompt  and  firm  in  the  assertion  of  their  rights  and  liberties. 
As  it  became  evident  that  a  peaceful  adjustment  of  grievances 
was  unlikely,  there  came  from  people  throughout  the  colonies  a 
demand  that  the  Continental  Congress  should  come  out  boldly  for 
independence.1 

Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  had  not  much  to  complain  of,  and 
were  somewhat  reluctant  to  take  any  decisive  step.  The  New 
England  colonies  could  not  forget  the  behavior  of  the  king's 
soldiers  and  the  atrocious  assault  upon  James  Otis.  In  Virginia 
the  people  had  witnessed  the  burning  of  Norfolk  by  shells  from  a 
British* warship,  and  the  experience  was  bitter  to  them.  It  is  not 
surprising,  then,  that  the  Virginia  Assembly  should  vote  to  "pro- 

1  It  should  be  noted  that  at  this  time  probably  one  third  of  the  people  in  the 
colonies  were  loyal  to  the  king.  These  people  were  called  Tories  or  Loyalists. 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     149 

pose  to  the  Congress  that  the  colonies  should  be  declared  free  and 
independent."  l 

For  a  considerable  time  there  was  constant  discussion  of  inde 
pendence  in  public  and  private,  and  many  pamphlets  upon  the 
subject  were  published.  Thomas  Paine,  a  prominent  journalist 
of  Philadelphia,  gained  much  fame  by  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Com 
mon  Sense,"  in  which  he  advocated  the  necessity  and  advantage 
of  separation  from  the  mother  country. 


a  ja^^cz^v  ^  ^/5L/^wu&^  ytL  UMJLD 

0F>4MEJnCA  ^  ^^v^C^^^^wtrO. 

li/Tu/rv  i/r\.  fr^ji,  c<ru/wt  4    husm&n.  us+riL)  JL  /c^owci  rvcxuv-M^  '  ar  l£ 


/i  I/* 
os**-tr*A  Tht.  pnASW4  /I  rr&- 

uxxt^r  </?  Tu»2tt^€-  V  o«0  TVV^U^*<  V 

ims    fJioJt  tL*f  j'ktr^  cLcJUsX,  ™*' 

.  fij  .....  f"i'in 

A  REDUCED  FACSIMILE  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  DOCUMENT  IN  THE  HANDWRITING 

OF  JEFFERSON. 

The  question  was  at  last  taken  up  by  the  Congress  on  the  7th 
of  June,  1770.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  by  request  of  the  Assembly 
of  Virginia,  offered  resolutions  for  independence  as 

foll°WS:-  relation, 

Resolved,  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 

ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states;  that  they  are  absolved 
from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown  ;  and  that  all  political 
connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is,  and 
ought  to  be,  dissolved. 

Resolved,  TJiat  it  is  expedient  forthwith  to  take  the  most  effectual 
measures  for  forming  foreign  alliances. 

Resolved,  That  a  plan  of  confederation  be  prepared  and  submitted 
to  the  respective  colonies  for  their  consideration. 

1  At  the  statehouse  at  Williamslmrg  the  British  flag  was  hauled  down,  and  a 
banner  with  thirteen  stripes  was  hoisted  in  its  place. 


150          THE  MAKING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

In  opposition  to  Lee's  resolutions,  it  was  contended  that  the 
colonies  had  only  a  small,  poorly  equipped  army  and  navy  and 
insufficient  resources,  and  that  conciliatory  measures  would  be 
much  better.  By  the  1st  of  July,  however,  every  colony  but  New 
York  had  instructed  its  delegates  in  the  Congress  to  vote  for 
Lee's  resolutions.  The  next  day,  the  2d,  they  were  passed  by 
the  votes  of  all  the  colonies  except  New  York.1 

The  Declaration  of  Independence.  July  4,  1776.  —  The  Congress 
then  began  to  consider  the  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  which  was  submitted  by  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare 
it.  It  had  been  hastily  written  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  his  lodg 
ings  in  Philadelphia  by  request  of  the  other  members  of  the 
committee.  A  few  verbal  changes  were  made ;  and  in  the  after 
noon  of  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  agreed  to.  It  was  subsequently  signed  by  all  the  members 
present  except  one.2 

SUMMARY 

In  most  of  the  colonies  the  people  either  resisted  the  king's  orders  or 
failed  to  obey  them. 

In  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina  the  royal  governments 
were  set  aside  and  provisional  governments  were  formed. 

In  Massachusetts  the  king's  troops,  in  1775,  fired  on  the  minutemen  at 
Lexington  and  Concord,  but  returned  to  Boston  with  great  loss. 

The  Congress  arranged  for  the  organization  of  the  Continental  army, 
and  appointed  George  Washington  cornmander-in-chief. 

The  king's  troops  attacked  the  Americans  at  Bunker  Hill  and  drove 
them  from  their  position. 

The  next  year  the  British  were  forced  to  evacuate  Boston. 

An  invasion  of  Canada  by  the  Americans  in  1775  failed. 

In  Virginia  the  royal  Governor  Dun  more 's  troops  were  attacked  near 
Norfolk  by  minutemen  and  were  defeated.  The  governor  retaliated  by 
burning  the  city. 

1  The  delegates  from  New  York  favored  them,  but  as  they  had  received  no 
instructions  about  the  matter  from  their  legislature,  they  asked  to  be  excused 
from  voting. 

2  The  exception  was  John  Dickinson.    His  refusal  to  sign  was  due  not  to  a  lack 
of  patriotism,  but  to  a  feeling  of  extreme  caution. 


REVOLT  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE     151 

In  North  Carolina  Colonel  Caswell  attacked  and  captured  at  Moores 
Creek  a  regiment  of  Tories,  who  had  taken  up  arms  for  the  king. 

On  July  4,  1776,  the  Congress  declared  the  colonies  free  and  indepen 
dent  states. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

The  American  Revolution  —  Fiske.     Vol.  I,  Chapters  II,  IV. 
History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  Ill,  Chapters  XIV-XVI, 
XX-XXII. 

The  Boys  of '76 — Coffin.     (For  popular  reading.) 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 
THE  WAR   IN  NEW  YORK   AND   THE   MIDDLE   STATES 

-  Washington  at  New  York  City.  1776.  —  By  the  spring  of  1776 
Washington  had  concentrated  at  New  York  City  all  the  troops 
that  could  be  spared,  about  eight  thousand  in  number,  and  pre 
pared  to  defend  it.  With  these  troops  he  must  guard  not  only 
Manhattan  Island  but  also  Brooklyn  and  Jersey  City.  He  could 
not  defend  Staten  Island.  The  Hudson  Valley  was  guarded  by 
Fort  Washington  and  Fort  Lee,  the  former  at  the  head  of  Man 
hattan  Island,  the  latter  on  the  Jersey  side  immediately  opposite; 
the  channel  between  them  was  blocked  by  sunken  ships.  Wash 
ington  held  Manhattan  Island ;  Brooklyn  Heights  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  General  Putnam.  This  position  over 
looked  what  was  then  the  city  of  New  York,  and  it  partly  con 
trolled  the  water  supply. 

Washington  needed  two  things  badly  —  men  and  equipments. 
He  asked  the  Congress  for  both,  and  it  tried  faithfully  to  get 
The  them.  But  the  Congress  had  no  power.  It  could  ask 

Congress  the  various  states  for  soldiers  or  for  money,  but  it 
powerless  GOU\&  &o  nothing  but  ask.  The  states  responded 
slowly.  Nevertheless,  after  much  delay,  Washington  got  together 
about  eighteen  thousand  men. 

The  Tories.  —  There  was  another  serious  trouble  with  which 
Washington  had  to  contend.  Not  all  the  people  in  and  about 
New  York  City  favored  the  American  cause.  The  Friends,  of 
whom  there  were  many,  were  prevented  from  taking  sides  actively 
because  of  their  faith,  which  forbade  any  but  peaceful  measures. 
There  were  many  others,  commonly  calleti  Tories,  who  were  in 

152 


THE   WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION  153 

outspoken  sympathy  with  the  British  cause ;  as  a  rule  they  were 
English-born  subjects  who  had  resided  only  a  few  years  in 
America.  They  were  intelligent  and  well-to-do,  and  they  used 
their  efforts  against  the  American  cause.  Even  at  that  time 
Friends  and  Tories  had  enough  power  to  thwart  Washington  in 
many  ways.1 

The  Battle  of  Long  Island.  1776.  — To  do  battle  with  Washing 
ton's  force,  the  British  reached  Staten  Island  with  over  twenty- 
five  thousand  troops  effective  for  service  under  General  Howe, 
and  a  well-equipped  fleet  commanded  by  his  brother,  Lord  Howe. 
They  determined  first  to  capture  Brooklyn  Heights,  and  on 
August  27,  1776,  they  fought  their  way  to  Putnam's  fort  on 
the  Heights.  About  three  hundred  Americans  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  one  thousand  were  taken  prisoners.  With  the 
coming  of  night,  it  seemed  certain  that  Putnam's  entire  force 
would  be  captured,  but  a  most  providential  thing  happened.  A 
very  heavy  rain,  followed  by  a  dense  fog,  caused  the  British  to 
delay  their  final  attack.  By  this  time  Washington,  who  had 
taken  charge  of  affairs,  saw  that  the  only  chance  to  escape  cap 
ture  was  a  quick  retreat.  Under  cover  of  the  fog,  the  Americans 
crept  silently  to  the  site  now  occupied  by  Fulton  Ferry,  leaving 
their  camp  fires  to  illuminate  the  murky  fog.  The  retreat  was  a 
most  skillful  piece  of  work. 

Washington  well  knew  that  after  his  abandonment  of  Brooklyn 
Heights,  the  British  would  quickly  take  possession  of  New  York, 
and  also  that  his  army  must  get  out  of  the  city.  He  therefore 
moved  his  troops  northward  through  Harlem. 

The  British  in  New  York.  —  General  Howe  thus  found  little 
resistance  to  his  occupation  of  New  York  City.  It  was  probably 
the  best  military  base  he  could  have  had,  for  he  could  easily 
receive  his  supplies  from  England.  Moreover,  if  he  could  possess 
himself  of  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  valleys,  the  New  England 
and  the  Southern  colonies  would  be  kept  apart  and  could  be 
subdued  one  after  the  other. 

1  Two  Quakers  who  conducted  a  party  of  royal  troops  to  an  American  outpost 
were  convicted  of  treason  and  hanged.  About  three  thousand  Tories  afterward 
left  the  country. 


154  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  King's  Plan.  —  In  order  to  conquer  the  region  that  is  now 
New  York  State,  the  king's  advisers  made  the  following  plan :  — 

General  Burgoyne  should  march  a  British  army  southward  from 

Canada  through  the  Champlain  Valley. 
Colonel  St.  Leger  should  cross  Lake  Ontario  to  Oswego  and  occupy 

the  Mohawk  Valley. 
General  Howe  and  Lord  Howe  should  go  up  the  Hudson  and  meet 

the  other  divisions  at  Albany. 

The  plan  was  an  excellent  one,  but  for  very  good  reasons  it  did 
not  succeed.  Washington's  retreat  furnished  one  of  the  reasons. 

Washington's  Retreat.  1776.  —  While  Washington  was  getting 
away  from  New  York  City,  General  Howe's  troops  were  close 
upon  him.1  There  was  some  sharp  fighting  at  Pelham,  where 
Glover's  "fishermen"  held  back  the  advance  of  the  British 
troops ;  there  was  also  some  hot  work  in  the  vicinity  of  Harlem, 
but  the  army  got  away  in  safety.  From  Harlem,  Washington 
moved  to  White  Plains,  where  there  was  another  skirmish  at 
Chattertons  Hill.  Then  he  crossed  the  Hudson,  remaining  a  short 
time  at  Hackensack,  New  Jersey. 

The  Capture  of  Fort  Washington ;  Lee's  Disobedience.  1776.  —  In 
the  meanwhile,  General  Howe  was  not  idle.  By  a  skillful  stroke 
he  captured  Fort  Washington  and  three  thousand  American 
soldiers.  Fort  Lee,  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  Hudson,  then 
became  the  chief  object  of  attention,  and  Howe  ordered  Cornwallis 
to  take  it.  Cornwallis,  however,  was  too  late  to  capture  the 
troops  there,  for  they  got  away  in  much  the  same  manner  as  at 
Brooklyn  Heights.  General  Charles  Lee  was  still  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Hudson  with  four  thousand  American  soldiers,  and  he  was 
ordered  to  join  Washington  so  that  the  two  forces  might  capture 

1  Most  of  the  British  troops  landed  at  what  is  now  the  Thirty-fourth  Street 
Ferry,  and  were  close  to  the  rear  of  Putnam's  soldiers,  who  were  on  their  way 
northward  from  Fulton  Ferry.  About  a  mile  from  the  Thirty-fourth  Street 
crossing  there  lived  Mrs.  Murray,  the  mother  of  the  grammarian,  Lindley  Murray. 
Mrs.  Murray  was  equal  to  the  occasion  ;  she  invited  General  Howe  and  his  staff 
to  an  elaborate  luncheon,  which  she  was  careful  to  take  plenty  of  time  to  pre 
pare,  and  for  more  than  two  hours  she  kept  her  guests  at  table.  In  the  meantime, 
General  Putnam  and  his  troops  had  hurried  up  the  road  and  had  joined  Washing 
ton  somewhere  near  Harlem.  The  site  of  Mrs.  Murray's  house  has  long  since  been 
covered  by  massive  buildings,  but  to  this  day  it  is  known  as  Murray  Hill. 


THE   WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


155 


Lord   Cornwallis.       To    his    shame,  Lee   disobeyed   the   order.1 
Later,   however,  he   crossed   at   his   leisure.       He   himself  was 
captured,  but  his  troops  joined  Washington.     Washington  after 
ward  fortified  West  Point  in  order 
to  command  the  Hudson. 

Washington's     Stand     in     New 
Jersey.     1776.  —  Washington   re 
treated   across   New  Jersey  into 
Pennsylvania,      destroying      the 
bridges   and  all  property  which 
the  British  troops,  who  were  in 
pursuit,  might  need.     He   noted 
with  satisfaction  that  the  British 
army   had   been    di 
vided,  and  acted  ac 
cordingly.    To  make 
an    occasional    dash 
upon  the  British  and 
then      retreat      was 
about  the  only  thing 
that     he     could    do 
during    the    fall    of 


CAMPAIGNS  IN  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  JERSEY. 

1  At  the  time  Lee  was  using  his  influence  with  the  Congress  to  obtain  the  com 
mand  of  the  army  for  himself.  Failing  in  that,  —  it  has  been  learned  in  late  years, 
—  he  opened  a  treasonable  correspondence  with  British  authorities  in  New  York. 
Lee  was  afterward  courtmartialed  and  dismissed  from  the  army.  While  he  was 
a  prisoner  of  the  British,  he  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  as  a  deserter.  His  life 
was  saved  by  Washington's  intercession.  This  act  has  been  characterized  as  the 
only  mistake  Washington  ever  made.  Charles  Lee  was  not  related  to  the  Lees  of 
Virginia, 


156  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

1776.  He  would  have  had  little  chance  of  success  in  a  general 
engagement,  but  by  the  plan  he  followed,  his  troops  were  gaining 
the  experience  and  discipline  they  needed,  while  the  British  were 
losing  men  and  arms  all  the  time. 

On  Christmas  night  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware  River 
above  Trenton,1  made  a  sudden  attack  upon  the  British  camp, 
captured  one  thousand  hired  Hessian  soldiers,  and  got 
Princeton11  back  to  Pennsylvania  with  them.  He  then  returned 
to  New  Jersey,  and  on  January  2  was  facing  the  enemy 
at  Trenton.  Cornwallis,  who  more  than  once  had  Washington 
where  escape  seemed  impossible,  remarked  that  he  had  the  old 
fox  penned  and  would  bag  him  in  the  morning.  Next  morning, 
however,  the  "old  fox"  was  gone.  While  a  few  of  his  men 
were  making  a  show  of  throwing  up  earthworks,  Washington 
moved  his  troops  away  under  the  cover  of  night.  At  dawn 
he  fell  upon  three  regiments  of  British  troops  at  Princeton,  and 
in  twenty  minutes  had  them  badly  whipped,  capturing  three  hun 
dred  men,  together  with  a  much-needed  supply  of  arms  and  ammu 
nition.  Cornwallis  followed  to  Princeton,  but  was  too  late  to 
"  bag  the  fox." 

Washington  remained  quiet  at  his  winter  camp  near  Morristown, 
New  Jersey,  except  for  making  an  occasional  dash.  On  one  of 
these  raids  he  captured  about  two  thousand  prisoners  from  the 
British,  and  opened  communication  with  the  Hudson  Valley.  By 
this  time,  the  military  leaders  of  Europe  discovered  that  Washing 
ton  was  employing  tactics  hitherto  unknown  in  the  art  of  war. 
During  the  winter  he  gained  many  recruits ;  the  British,  on  the 
other  hand,  lost  many  Hessian  soldiers  by  desertion.2  Many 
Tories  and  British  sympathizers  turned  to  the  American  cause  at 
this  time ;  but  the  greatest  aid  that  the  Americans  received  was 

1  Before  he  could  cross  the  river  it  was  necessary  to  send  scouting  parties  up 
and  down  the  river,  a  distance  of  many  miles,  to  take  possession  of  all  boats 
that  could  be  found. 

2  The  Hessians,  being  hired  soldiers,  cared  nothing  for  the  British.    The  Con 
gress,  in  order  to  encourage  their  desertion,  made  an  offer  of  land  to  any  one  who 
should  desert  to  the  Americans.    Printed  notices  to  this  effect,  inclosed  in  tobacco 
wrappers,  were  distributed  among  them,  with  the  result  that  a  considerable 
number  carne  to  the  Americans. 


THE  WAR    OF  THE  DEVOLUTION 


157 


the  services  of  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  a  young  French  officer,  and 
of  Baron  von  Steuben  and  Baron  De  Kalb,  both  famous  German 
soldiers. 

The  Campaign  about  Philadelphia.  1777.  —  In  the  following 
summer  General  Howe  determined  to  take  Philadelphia,  then  the 
capital  of  the  United  States.  He 
started  by  land,  but  Washington 
harassed  him  so  badly  that  he  went 
back  to  New  York  and  embarked 
his  troops  on  transports.  When  he 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware, 
he  found  that  it  would  be  almost 
certain  destruction  to  run  by  the 
two  forts  guarding  the  river,  so 
he  turned  southward,  entered  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  landed  at  the 
head  of  it.  Washington  tried  to 
check  his  advance  at  Chads  Ford, 
on  the  Brandywine,  but  the  battle 
was  against  him  (September  11, 
1777).  Washington  then  entered 
Philadelphia  and  remained  a  few 
days,  but  he  left  the  city  rather  than 
risk  a  general  battle. 

Shortly  afterward  General  Howe  took  possession  of  Philadel 
phia,  and  the  Congress  fled  to  Lancaster,  in  Pennsylvania.  General 
Howe  left  part  of  his  army  encamped  at  Germantown,  while  he 
wrent  with  a  considerable  force  to  capture  the  forts  on  the  Dela 
ware.  While  he  was  gone,  Washington  made  a  sudden  attack  on 
the  force  at  Germantown,  but  failed  to  capture  it.  Then  he  made 
his  winter  camp  at  Valley  Forge,  twenty  miles  from 
Philadelphia.  During  this  winter  the  troops  suffered 
dreadfully  for  want  of  food  and  clothing.  Some  of 
the  men  were  without  shoes,1  and  part  of  the  time  they  had  to 
sleep  in  the  snow. 

1  There  were  plenty  of  supplies  to  be  had,  but  there  was  no  system  in  the 
quartermaster's  department,  the  bureau  that  has  charge  of  such  supplies. 


Valley 
Forge 


158  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMEEICAN  NATION 

Carrying  out  the  King's  Plan;  Burgoyne  invades  New  York. 
1777.  —  While  Washington  was  keeping  General  Howe  busy  in 
the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  the  first  part  of  the  king's  plan  was 
under  way.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1777,  General  John  Burgoyne 
started  southward  from  Canada  along  the  Cham  plain  Valley.  He 
had  about  eight  thousand  men,  which  were  more  than  enough  ;  of 
supplies  he  had  by  no  means  a  sufficient  amount.  He  had  been 
led  to  believe  that  he  could  obtain  whatever  supplies  he  needed, 
and  also  that  there  were  many  Tories  in  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson 
valleys  who  would  join  him.1 

In  part,  this  was  true.  The  route  into  New  York  was  not  a 
difficult  one,  but  the  supplies  never  reached  Burgoyne,  because 
the  Americans  determined  that  they  should  not.  The  Tories  were 
also  there,  but  the  sturdy  men  of  New  York  saw  to  it  that  they 
did  not  get  to  Burgoyne.  As-  a  matter  of  fact,  General  Burgoyne 
left  his  base  of  supplies  in  Canada  and,  inadequately  equipped, 
plunged  into  a  forest  wilderness,  ignorant  of  the  conditions  ahead 
of  him.  For  this  he  himself  was  partly  to  blame,  but  in  the  main 
it  was  the  fault  of  the  king's  advisers. 

On  the  way  up  the  Champlain  Valley,  Burgoyne  captured  Fort 
Ticonderoga  (July,  1777)  and  drove  General  Schuyler,  who  de 
fended  it,  to  Fort  Edward.  Burgoyne  learned  that 
some  provisions  and  military  supplies  had  been  stored 
at  the  village  of  Bennington,  Vermont,  and  he  sent  one  thousand 
men  to  capture  them.  At  Bennington  the  troops  met  Colonel 
John  Stark,  a  veteran  of  Bunker  Hill,  who  routed  them  so  effec 
tually  that  scarcely  one  hundred  got  back  to  their  command.  Bur 
goyne  struggled  onward,  hoping  against  hope  that  he  might  have 
news  either  of  General  Howe  or  of  Colonel  St.  Leger. 

In  the  meantime,  there  were  near  him  three  Americans  who  had 
developed  great  skill  as  fighters  —  Generals  Schuyler  and  Arnold, 
and  Colonel  Daniel  Morgan.  They  seemed  never  to  sleep.  Schuy- 

1  At  that  time  the  entire  population  of  New  York  State  was  not  more  than  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand,  —  it  ranked  seventh  among  the  colonies,  — 
and  practically  all  of  it  was  in  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  valleys.  Many  people 
in  the  western  part  remained  loyal  to  England  —  among  them  Sir  John  Johnson, 
son  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  who  had  been  the  British  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  in  the  colonies.  The  Iroouoian  tribes  also  were  loyal  to  the  king. 


THE  WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


159 


ler  destroyed  the  roads  and  bridges  upon  which  Burgoyne  must 

depend.     Then,  at   an  opportune  moment,  Arnold  and  Morgan 

fell  on  him  at  Bemis 

Heights    and    stopped 

his      progress      south 

ward  ;      three     weeks 

later   they  inflicted   a 

harder    blow   at    Still- 

water.     Then,  step  by 

step,    he    was    driven 

back  to  Saratoga.     At 

Saratoga  he  found  him 

self  without  food,  sur 

rounded  by  Americans. 

There  was  but  one  thing 

Burgoyne's     heCOlllddo; 

Surrender        SO  on  Octo- 

at  Saratoga 


his  army  of  six  thou 
sand  men  laid  down 
their  arms.1  To  the 
lasting  shame  of  the 
Congress,  General 
Gates's  promise  to 
send  Burgoyne's  troops 
home  was  never  carried 
out  ;  the  troops  were 
kept  as  prisoners  of 
war. 

The  operations  about 
Saratoga  in  many 
ways  were  the  turn 
ing  point  of  the  war. 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  STATES. 
From  a  military  standpoint,  Burgoyne's 

1  The  surrender  was  made  to  General  Gates,  who  had  just  superseded  General 
Schuyler.  Gates  was  a  blunderer  as  a  military  leader,  but  undoubtedly  was  a 
shrewd  "  wire-puller."  The  action  of  the  Congress  in  displacing  General  Schuyler 
has  always  been  considered  unwise.  It  was  done  against  the  wishes  of  General 
Washington. 


160  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

surrender  completely  put  an  end  to  the  king's  plans.  In  another 
respect,  also,  it  was  a  turning  point,  for  the  French*  king, 
seeing  that  the  Americans  had  an  excellent  chance  to  win, 
seized  the  opportunity  to  come  to  their  aid  with  troops  and 
supplies. 

Carrying  out  the  King's  Plan ;  St.  Leger's  Expedition.     1777.  - 
In   the  middle  of  July  Colonel  St.  Leger  crossed  Lake  Ontario 
In  the  ^0  Oswego  with  a  force  of  about  one  thousand  men. 

Mohawk        He  did  not  take  more  troops  because  he  expected  to 
a  ey  gather  a  considerable   force  in  the  Mohawk  Valley. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  was  joined  by  Sir  John  Johnson's  rangers 
and  by  the  Mohawk  chief,  Joseph  Brant.  With  nearly  two 
thousand  troops  he  then  set  out  to  capture  Fort  Stanwix,  now  the 
site  of  Rome. 

Among  the  substantial  men  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  was 
Nicholas  Herkimer,  a  German  veteran,  who  had  seen  much 
military  service.  Herkimer  gathered  about  eight  hundred  men, 
and  started  to  intercept  St.  Leger's  troops.  While  on  the  way, 
Herkimer  himself  was  surprised  at  Oriskaiiy  by  Chief  Joseph 
Brant  and  Johnson's  rangers.  Herkimer  was  mortally  wounded, 
and  by  all  the  rules  of  war  was  badly  whipped.  Just  at  the 
time  when  he  was  at  their  mercy,  however,  both  the  Indians  and 
the  rangers  turned  and  fled.  .  Colonel  Gansevoort,  in  command 
of  Fort  Stanwix,  heard  the  firing  and,  suspecting  trouble,  sent 
Colonel  Marinus  Willett  to  the  rescue.  Willett  overtook  Johnson's 
rangers,  and  punished  them  so  severely  that  they  took  no  further 
part  in  the  war.  Most  of  the  Mohawks  deserted.  After  this 
St.  Leger  became  frightened,  abandoned  his  position,  and  retreated 
to  Canada. 

Carrying  out  the  King's  Plan  ;  Why  Howe  did  not  go  to  Albany.  — 
The  first  and  second  parts  of  the  king's  plan  failed,  and,  for  that 
matter,  so  did  the  third.  There  were  two  very  good  reasons  why 
General  Howe  did  not  move  his  troops  up  the  Hudson  to  join 
Burgoyne  and  St.  Leger.  During  the  first  part  of  the  campaign, 
Howe  had  his  hands  full  in  trying  to  defeat  Washington  ;  the  rest 
of  the  time  he  was  busy  trying  to  prevent  Washington  from  whip 
ping  him.  Moreover,  it  is  now  known  that  General  Howe  never 


THE  WAR    OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


161 


received   positive   orders   to   cooperate  with   Burgoyne   and   St. 
Leger.1 

Thus  the  king's  plan  utterly  collapsed,  and  its  failure  com 
pleted  the  War  of  the  Revolution  so  far  as  New  York  was  con 
cerned.  The  rest  of  the  fighting  in  the  state  was  mainly  for 
the  purpose  of  punishing  Indians  and  Tories. 

The  Massacres  at  Wyoming  Valley  and  Cherry  Valley  ;  Sullivan's 
Expedition.  1777-1779.  —  The  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  al 
though  loyal  to  the  English, 
were  not  inclined  to  take  any 
important  part  in  the  war,  and 
there  was  no  general  uprising 
of  the  Iroquoian  tribes.  Never 
theless,  many  Indians  joined 
with  the  bands  of  Tories  and 
helped  in  the  attacks  on  defense 
less  frontier  villages.  Some 
Tory  rangers  and  Seneca  In 
dians  under  Colonel  Butler  fell 
upon  the  settlement  at  Wyoming 
Valley,  Pennsylvania,  and  mas 
sacred  a  great  many  of  the 
people.  Butler  also  left  a  trail 
of  blood  and  smoking  ruins 
through  the  valleys  of  the  Una- 


MEDAL  GIVEN  BY  ENGLAND  TO  INDIAN 
CHIEFS  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 

Given  as  rewards  to  the  chiefs  who 
adhered  to  England.  It  shows  an 
Englishman  and  an  Indian  smoking 
a  pipe  of  peace  together. 


dilla   and   Cobleskill  rivers  in 
New   York.      His  son,  with  a 
company    of    rangers   and   In 
dians,  attacked  the  villages  in  Cherry  Valley,  New  York,  and 
massacred  most  of  the  settlers  there. 

After  this  sort  of  warfare  had  been  going  on  for  nearly  two 

1  That  General  Howe  must  have  known  he  was  expected  to  ascend  the  Hudson 
seems  certain,  hut  it  is  also  certain  that  he  was  permitted  to  use  his  discretion 
about  doing  so.  Nevertheless,  a  positive  order  to  that  effect  was  issued  from 
the  British  War  Office,  but  not  having  been  accurately  copied  it  was  withheld. 
Fortunately,  or  unfortunately,  the  paper  on  which  hung  the  fortunes  of  Burgoyne 
was  consigned  to  a  pigeonhole  in  some  one's  desk  and  forgotten ;  it  was  not  dis 
covered  until  long  after  American  independence  was  assured, 


162 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


years,  General  Sullivan  was  ordered  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  In 
1779  he  gathered  a  force  of  soldiers  and  carried  a  very  vigorous 
campaign  into  the  territory  of  the  Six  Nations.  The  Tories 
quickly  slunk  away,  leaving  the  Indians  to  bear  the  brunt  of 
the  punishment.  The  punishment  that  Sullivan  inflicted  was  so 
effectual  that  the  Iroquoians  were  no  longer  a  factor  in  the  war. 
About  fifty  of  their  villages  and  forts  were  destroyed. 

Clark's   Conquest   in   the   Northwest.     1778-1779.  —  During  the 
war  the  fort  at  Detroit  was  perhaps  the  most  important  outpost 


•  CLARK'S   CAMPAIGN 


/~       0  "        50  lOO"^     160         200  M\LES--14-» 


CLARK'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NORTHWEST,  1778-1779. 

on  the  western  frontier,  and  it  was  strongly  garrisoned.  The 
British  military  governor,  Hamilton,  although  far  away  from 
the  scene  of  the  war,  managed  to  stir  up  the  Indians  in  the 
West,  and  planned  to  attack  the  whole  western  frontier.  A 
plucky  dare-devil  from  Virginia,  Colonel  George  Eogers  Clark,  re 
cruited  several  hundred  men  in  1778,  and  embarked  at  Pittsburg. 
The  command  made  its  way  to  the  British  fort  at  Kaskaskia,  on 
the  Mississippi  Biver,  which  was  readily  captured.  Then  Clark 
led  his  riflemen  eastward  on  a  most  difficult  journey  to  Vincennes, 
which  he  captured,  Puring  two  brilliant  campaigns  in  the  next 


THE  WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


few  months,  he  drove  the  British  from  nearly  all  the  outposts 

between  the  Appalachian  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi  Kiver, 

and  practically  won  the  region 

for    the    Americans.       Detroit 

was  the  only  important  post. 
The  National  Flag.  —  During 

the  first  year  of  the  war  various 

designs    were     used     for     the 

national    standard.       The    one 

most  commonly  used  had  thir 
teen  stripes,  alternately  red  and 

white,   with   the    cross    of    St. 

George  (the  British  Union  Jack) 

at  the   upper   corner   next  the 

halyards.      In   June,  1777,  the 

Congress   ordered   a  blue    field 

with    thirteen    white    stars    in 

the  place   of  the   cross   of   St. 

George. 

France     aids     the    Americans. 

1778.  —  In  February,  1778,  the 

king  of  France  not  only  recog 
nized  the  United  States  as  an 

independent  power,  but  he  also 

sent  troops  and  a  fleet  to  the  aid  of  the  Americans.     This  was 

due  partly  to  their  success  at  Saratoga  and  partly  to  the  fact 
that  Benjamin  Franklin,  whom  the  Con 
gress  had  sent  to  France,  proved  a  most 
capable  counselor.  Moreover,  France  was 
only  too  willing  to  hit  back  at  her  old 
enemy,  England.  What  was  quite  as 
necessary  to  the  Americans,  France  made 
a  commercial  alliance  with  them.  King 
THE  AMERICAN  FLAG  George  felt  uneasy,  and  offered  the  Ameri- 

AS  ADOPTED  IN  1777.  ,  ,,   .  .,  TIT  -i     j 

cans  about  everything  they  had  demanded 
except  independence.  This  offer,  however,  was  rejected,  as  nothing 
short  of  independence  would  at  that  time  be  considered. 


164  THE  MAKING   OF  THE   AMERICAN  NATION 

The  British  evacuate  Philadelphia;  the  Battle  of  Monmouth.  1778. 
—  When  General  Clinton,  who  had  succeeded  Howe,  learned  that 
the  French  fleet  was  making  for  the  American  coast,  he  feared  to 
remain  longer  at  Philadelphia,  and  so  he  abandoned  the  city  and 
started  for  New  York.  Washington,  who  had  remained  with  his 
half-clad,  half-starved  command  at  Valley  Forge,  was  on  the 
alert,  following  him  closely.  At  Monmouth,  New  Jersey,  Wash 
ington  felt  safe  in  offering  battle.  It  would  have  been  a  decided 
victory  for  the  Americans  had  not  General  Charles  Lee  treacher 
ously  ordered  a  retreat.  The  British  lost  heavily,  though  Wash 
ington  gained  nothing.  If  Lafayette  and  Steuben  had  not  refused 
to  obey  Lee,  the  American  loss  would  have  been  far  heavier. 

Two  things  became  apparent  during  the  battle.  In  Lafayette, 
the  Americans  had  a  courageous  field  officer ;  moreover,  the  train 
ing  which  Baron  von  Steuben  had  given  the  troops  during  the 
winter  at  Valley  Forge  and  the  excellent  organization  which  he 
had  introduced  into  the  army  proved  to  be  of  the  greatest  value. 

The  battle  of  Monmouth  was  the  last  important  fighting  that 
occurred  in  the  Middle  states. 

THE   WAR   IN  THE   SOUTH 

The  King's  New  Plan.  —  By  the  last  of  1778,  the  king  had  a 
new  plan,  namely,  that  the  royal  army  should  start  at  the 
South,  where  the  Tory  sentiment  was  very  strong,  and  sweep 
a  clean  path  northward  through  the  Middle  and  New  England 
colonies. 

The  Capture  of  Savannah  and  Charleston.  1778-1780.  —  The 
first  efforts  were  successful.  Under  General  Clinton's  direction 
Savannah  was  captured,  and  the  royal  governor  was  reinstated 
over  Georgia.  The  Americans  seemed  unable  to  check  the  British 
advance.  General  Lincoln,  who  had  won  distinction  in  the  Ameri 
can  campaign  about  Saratoga,  landed  at  Charleston,  South  Caro 
lina,  and  raised  an  army  of  about  three  thousand  recruits.  A  part 
of  this  force  was  sent  to  retake  Savannah,  but,  after  several  battles 
at  Augusta,  the  Americans  were  so  badly  beaten  that  scarcely  five 
hundred  men  were  left. 


THE  \VAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION  165 

The  British  general,  Prevost,  had  things  pretty  nearly  his  own 
way,  and  drove  the  American  forces  before  him  to  Charleston.1 
General  Clinton  advanced  by  land  from  Savannah.  Together 
Clinton  and  Prevost  moved  upon  the  city,  and  on  May  12,  1780, 
they  captured  not  only  the  city  itself,  but  Lincoln  and  his  entire 
force,  which  numbered  about  seven  thousand.  It  was  not  a  case 
of  overwhelming  odds,  but  one  of  bad  judgment  on  the  part  of 
Lincoln  ;  Clinton  showed  the  better  generalship. 

General  Gates's  Defeat;  Camden.  1780. — After  this  hard  blow, 
another  army  of  three  thousand  men  was  raised  and  placed 
under  the  command  of  General  Gates,  in  August,  1780.  The 
British  forces  were  scattered,  and  had  Gates  followed  the  advice 
of  Baron  De  Kalb,  he  could  have  routed  them  one  after  another. 
Instead,  he  waited ;  and  while  he  was  waiting,  Cornwallis,  with 
only  two  thousand  troops,  fell  upon  him  at  Camden,  South  Caro 
lina.  The  battle  was  short  and  decisive.  Many  of  the  Ameri 
cans  —  they  had  lost  all  confidence  in  Gates  —  ran  away ;  most  of 
the  others  were  killed  or  captured.  With  the  remnant  of  his 
command,  Gates  retreated  to  North  Carolina. 

Arnold's  Treason.  1780.  —  About  this  time,  too,  there  occurred 
the  most  disheartening  incident  of  the  war.  After  the  battle  of 
Saratoga,  Arnold,  who  had  been  severely  wounded,  was  placed  in 
command  at  Philadelphia.  Like  Washington,  Greene,  and  Mor 
gan,  he  had  been  the  object  of  malicious  intriguers  ;  at  their 
instigation  he  was  courtmartialed,  but  the  court  acquitted  him 
of  all  blame.  During  this  time  his  pay  was  withheld  for  more 
than  a  year.  In  disgust  he  made  up  his  mind  to  resign.2  Wash 
ington  was  angry  at  the  injustice,  and  at  Arnold's  request 
Washington  transferred  him  to  West  Point. 

Before  his  transfer  to  West  Point,  however,  Arnold  had  begun 
the  plot  which  was  to  make  his  name  infamous  forever,  and  his 
appointment  to  this  important  station  gave  him  the  opportunity 

1  During  this  march  Prevost's  troops  gutted  every  planter's  mansion  and  de 
stroyed  all  property  in  sight.    For  this  he  has  heen  unmercifully  criticised.    One 
must  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  his  act  was  one  of  war,  and  that  his  march  was 
not  a  picnic.     The  effect  was  to  bring  many  Tories  to  the  American  side. 

2  Greene  and  Morgan  had  both  resigned  for  similar  causes,  but  had  reentered 
the  army  at  Washington's  request. 


166  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


to  carry  out  the  plot.  He  negotiated  with  General  Clinton 
to  give  up  West  Point  to  the  British;  for  his  treachery  he 
was  to  receive  six  thousand  pounds  and  a  brigadier-general's 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  IN  THE 
SOUTH. 

commission  in  the  British 
army.  Through  the  capture 
of  Major  Andre,  Clinton's  sec 
retary,  the  plot  was  discovered 
and  thwarted.  The  unfortunate 
Andre  was  hanged  as  a  spy  — 


THE  WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION  167 

a  cruel  necessity  of  war ;  Arnold  managed  to  escape  to  the  British 
lines.  After  this  Arnold  was  engaged  in  a  pillaging  expedition  in 
Virginia  j  he  also  carried  on  a  similar  guerrilla  warfare  near  New 
London,  Connecticut.1 

The  Mutiny  at  Morristown.  1780-1781.  —  The  moral  effect  of 
Arnold's  treason  was  great.  The  troops  in  the  winter  camp  at 
Morristown,  New  Jersey,  driven  to  desperation  by  hunger  and 
want  of  clothing,  began  to  revolt  in  1780-1781.  They  were  paci 
fied  by  the  personal  appeal  of  Washington. 

The  Turning  of  American  Fortunes;  Greene's  Campaign.  1780- 
1781.  —  After  the  defeat  of  General  Gates  at  Camden,  the  British 
had  things  pretty  generally  their  own  way  in  South  Carolina.  At 
King's  Mountain,  however,  a  British  force  of  eleven  hundred  was 
routed  and  captured  by  some  Carolina  mountaineers. 

The  Americans  in  the  South  were  badly  in  need  of  a  leader,  and 
in  time  he  came.  General  Nathanael  Greene  was  the  man,  and 
his  right-hand  man  was  Daniel  Morgan,  who  was  already  in  the 
South.  Both  had  been  snubbed  by  a  clique  of  intriguers,  who 
had  not  a  little  influence  with  the  Congress,2  and  neither  one 
was  sorry  to  be  sent  out  of  reach  of  his  annoyers.  With 
Greene  was  also  the  clever  Baron  Steuben.  Greene  got  together 
a  force  of  about  three  thousand  men.  One  British  officer  called 
them  "dirty  mongrels,"  and  most  likely  it  was  an  undisciplined, 
motley  crowd.  Nevertheless,  after  the  training  which  they  re 
ceived  at  the  hands  of  Greene,  Morgan,  and  Steuben,  these  same 
"dirty  mongrels  "  were  to  bring  about  the  humiliation  of  their  critic. 

1  In  England,  Arnold  was  shunned  as  an  outcast.     Twenty  years  after  his  act 
of  treason,  on  his  deathbed,  he  begged  to  be  once  more  clothed  in  the  old  uni 
form  he  had  never  forsaken,  and  wearing  the  sword  knot  that  Washington  had 
given  him,  he  died.  % 

2  It  is  sad  to  contemplate  the  fact  that  there  were  men  who  were  perfectly  will 
ing  to  sacrifice  an  army  for  the  sake  of  political  ambitions.     Washington,  Greene, 
and  Morgan  had  suffered  from  their  plottings,  but  being  men  of  broad  char 
acter,  they  wrere  strong  enough  to  ignore  their  enemies.     One  of  these  schemes 
was  planned  by  General  Gates,  for  the  purpose  of  depriving  Washington  of  the 
command  of  the  army  and  getting  the  place  for  himself.     Gates  had  succeeded 
in  putting  himself  above  General  Schuyler,  to  the  disgust  of  all  who  knew  of  the 
trickery,  but  when  his  intentions  to  supersede  Washington  became  known  to 
the  people,  popular  opinion  forced  Uim  to  desist.    The  scheme  was  known  as  the 
Conway  Cabal. 


168 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Cowpens 


Greene  lost  no  time  in  beginning  his  work.  He  followed  the 
plan  of  Washington  in  New  Jersey,  constantly  making  sudden 
and  unexpected  dashes  on  his  enemy,  and  quickly  getting  away. 
Marion,  Sumter,  "  Light-Horse  Harry  "  Lee,  and  William  Wash 
ington,  with  their  commands,  were  striking  at  the  enemy  almost 
day  and  night.  At  Cowpens,  Morgan  fell  on  the  British 
force  under  Tarleton  and  nearly  crushed  it  out  of 
existence.  In  the  skillful  handling  of  men,  the  battle  of  Cowpens 
was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war. 

The  strategy  that  he  employed  showed  the  good  judgment  of 
Greene.      Step   by  step  he  led  Cornwallis   a  round- 
Courthouse     about  chase  until  the  British  general  had  been  drawn 
far  away  from  his  supplies.     At  Guilford  Courthouse, 
Greene  found   a   favorable   opportunity  for  attack.     The  battle 

was  by  no  means  a  victory  for 
the  Americans,  and  it  showed 
that  Cornwallis  was  a  splendid 
fighter ;  but  it  left  him  so  badly 
crippled  that  he  could  not  return 
south,  and  was  compelled  to  get 
to  the  seaboard.  He  went  to 
Virginia  and  was  shortly  after 
ward  ordered  to  Yorktown  pe 
ninsula,  which  he  proceeded  to 
fortify.  Lafayette,  with  his 
troops,  immediately  crept  upon 
the  neck  of  the  peninsula  ready 
for  action  ;  Steuben  followed 
him. 

Cornwallis   being   out   of   the 
way,   Greene   turned   southward 
and,  with  the  help  of  Marion,  Sumter,  and  Lee,  drove  the  British 
and  Tories  before  him  toward  Charleston.     At  Eutaw 
Sprhjs          Springs,  near  Charleston,  they  made  their  last  stand; 
they  were  not  defeated,  but  their  forces  were  crippled. 
They  got  back  to  Charleston  under  cover  of  the  British  fleet, 
and  there  they  remained, 


From  the  painting  by  Copley. 

GENERAL,  CORNWALLIS. 


THE  WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


169 


Yorktown ;  the  Surrender  of  Cornwallis.  1781.  —  While  Corn- 
wallis  was  fortifying  Yorktown,  Washington  was  planning  to 
recapture  New  York.  For  this  purpose  the  French  fleet  had  been 
ordered  from  the  West  Indies  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay  in  order  to 
cooperate  with  him.  Then  it 
was  that  the  cautious,  re 
treating,  slow-moving  Wash 
ington  made  one  of  his 
characteristic  lightning  move 
ments.1  He  made  a  feint 
against  New  York  and  led 
Clinton  to  think  that  that 
city  was  the  objective  point; 
then  he  moved  rapidly  to  the 
head  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
and  thence  took  ships  for 
a  landing  place  near  York- 
town.  On  the  last  day  of 
August  the  French  fleet  was 
before  Yorktown,  and  two 
weeks  later  Washington 
joined  Lafayette.  The  trap 
door  was  shut.  There  was 
but  one  thing  for  Cornwallis 
to  do;  he  surrendered,  and 
about  eight  thousand  troops 
laid  down  their  arms,2  on 
October  19,  1781. 

In  his  campaigns  Cornwallis  had  proved  himself  a  brave 
soldier  and  a  splendid  fighter;  he  had  served  his  king  loyally 
and  faithfully.  He  was  the  most  capable  general  on  the  British 
side,  and  the  bitter  ending  of  the  campaign  in  the  South 


THE  MONUMENT  AT  YORKTOWN. 


1  It  is  said  that  Robert  Morris  provided  the  funds  for  the  transportation  of 
Washington's  army  on  about  forty-eight  hours'  notice. 

2  When  his  troops  marched  out  of  Yorktown  between  the  American  lines, 
the  British  military  band  played  the  quaint  melody,  "The  World  turned  upside 
Down." 


170          THE  MAKING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

reflects  no  discredit  on  him  or  his  soldiers ;  it  was  the  fortune 
of  war.1 

The  News  in  England.  — The  surrender  of  Cornwallis  was  prac 
tically  the  end  of  the  war,  although  the  British  troops  remained 
for  some  time  in  New  York  and  Charleston.  When  the  news  of 
the  surrender  reached  England,  the  ministry  that  had  so  long 
supported  the  king  at  once  resigned.  When  next  the  Parliament 
opened  (1782),  George  III,  whose  obstinacy  had  caused  the  war, 
announced  that  he  was  ready  to  grant  the  independence  of  his 
former  colonies.  During  the  following  twelve  months  the  British 
troops  sailed  for  England.  General  Washington  disbanded  the 
American  troops,  bade  farewell  to  his  officers,  and  returned  his 
commission  to  the  Congress,  then  in  session  at  Annapolis, 
Maryland. 

The  Naval  Operations  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  —  As  early  as 
1775,  the  Congress  chartered  several  privately  owned  vessels  to 
search  for  British  ships  that  were  to  bring  ammunition  to  America. 
Shortly  afterward  (December,  1775)  the  building  of  thirteen 
cruisers  was  ordered,  six  of  which  were  built.  A  number  of 
merchantmen  were  impressed  into  service  and  fitted  with  guns. 
A  wealthy  Philadelphia  merchant,  John  Barry,  gave  up  his  busi 
ness  in  order  to  take  command  of  the  squadron  of  converted 
merchantmen.  In  command  of  the  Lexington,  Barry  captured 
several  British  cruisers.  He  proved  himself  such  a  good  fighter 
that  Lord  Howe  offered  him  a  large  sum  of  money  to  take  a  com 
mand  in  the  British  navy.  At  New  Providence,  in  the  Bahama 
Islands,  Barry's  squadron  captured  a  much-needed  supply  of 
ammunition.  John  Paul  Jones  was  a  lieutenant  on  the  flagship 2 
of  this  fleet. 

The  Congress  also  issued  "letters  of  marque,"  that  is,  charters, 
to  privately  owned  merchantmen,  licensing  them  to  arm  as 
privateers  ;  and  year  after  year  these  made  war,  with  various 

1  On  his  return  to  England,  Cornwallis  was  decorated  with  the  Order  of  the 
Garter,  and  shortly  afterward  was  made  governor-general  of  India. 

2  The  flagship  flew  a  yellow  silk  standard,  having  as  its  device  a  pine  tree  and 
a  coiled  rattlesnake.    It  bore  the  motto,  "Don't  tread  on  me."    This  was  the 
first  naval  flag.    The  flag  now  the  standard  of  the  country  was  not  in  existence 
at  that  time. 


THE  WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


171 


AN  AUTOGRAPH  LETTER  FROM  ROBERT  MORRIS  TO  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BARRY. 

fortunes,  on  British  commerce.  Some  of  them  went  to  the  Eng 
lish  coast  and  performed  a  risky  service  there.  It  was  not  a  sort 
of  warfare  that  would  be  permitted  now,  but  it  was  considered 
proper  at  that  time. 


172 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


The  Battle  between  the  Serapis  and  the  Bonhomme  Richard.    1779. 

—  Paul  Jones,  although  a  young  man,  showed  excellent  fighting 
qualities.  In  1779  he  had  command  of  a  squadron  of  five  ships, 
built  mainly  in  France,  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  and  destroy 
ing  such  English  merchantmen  as  might  be  on  the  British  coast. 
In  September  of  that  year,  while  off  Flamborough  Head,  Eng 
land,  his  flagship  the  Bonhomme  Richard1  was  overhauled  by  the 

British  frigate  Serapis.  Jones 
grappled  the  Serapis  and  lashed 
his  own  vessel  to  her.  During  a 
momentary  lull  in  the  furious 
conflict,  the  captain  of  the  Serapis 
called  out :  "  Have  you  struck  your 
colors?"  "No,"  replied  Jones, 
"  I  have  not  yet  begun  to  fight." 

In  three  hours  of  most  bloody 
fighting,  nearly  half  of  the  crews 
of  both  vessels  were  killed  or 
wounded.  Then  a  gunner  of  the 
Bonhomme  Richard  crawled  on  a 
yard  of  the  Serapis  and  into 
the  open  hatchway  below  threw  a 
grenade,  which  exploded  and  killed 
most  of  the  remaining  crew. 
When,  at  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
the  Serapis  surrendered,  only  a  few  of  her  men  were  left  alive. 
The  Bonhomme  Richard  sank  before  morning,  and  Jones  made 
the  half-wrecked  Serapis  his  flagship.  After  more  than  a  year 
of  service  in  foreign  waters  Jones  reached  Philadelphia.2 

Finances  of  the  Revolution.  —  To   provide  the  necessary  funds 
for  carrying  on  the  war  was  a  most  difficult  task.     There  were  no 

1  It  was  named  after  Benjamin  Franklin's  character  "  Poor  Richard,"  whose 
epigrams  have  made  "  Poor  Richard's  Almanac  "  famous. 

2  He  was  made  commander  of   a  man-of-war,  but  the   vessel  was  not  built 
until   peace  was  declared.      Jones  later  became   an   admiral   in  the   Russian 
navy.    He  died  in  Paris,  while  still  a  young  man.    His  remains  were  recently  re 
covered  and  brought  from  France  to  the  United  States  in  great  honor.    They  are 
now  at  Annapolis. 


THE    \\~AR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


173 


gold  mines  to  draw  upon,  and  the  amount  of  gold  and  silver  coin 
on   hand   was   small.      It  was    difficult  to  borrow  from   foreign 
bankers,  because  the  country  was  considered  to  be  in    The 
rebellion.     So  the  country  proceeded  to  borrow  from    Continental 
its  own  people,  and  to  issue  promises  to  pay  the  debt. 
These  "  promises  to  pay  "  were  the  same  in  many  respects  as  the 
bank  bills  in  use  to-day,  the  chief  difference  being  that  there  was 
no  security  to  make  them  good.    The  Continental  Congress  author 
ized  their  issue  for  the  first  time  just  after  the  battle  of  Bunker 


THE  COMBAT  BETWEEN  THE  BONHOMME  RICHARD  AND  THE  SERAPIS. 

Hill;  they  had  not  dared  to  do  this  until  the  emergency  was 
great.  By  the  close  of  1779  bills  to  the  amount  of  more  than 
$241,000,000  had  been  issued  by  the  general  government,  each 
issue  being  made  by  a  special  act  of  the  Congress.  The  states 
also  from  time  to  time  issued  similar  bills  amounting  to  more 
than  $210,000,000.  About  $8,000,000  in  gold  and  silver  was 
borrowed  in  Europe  during  the  war,  mainly  from  France  and  the 
Netherlands. 

The  Continental,  currency  began  to  lessen  in  face  value  in  a  very 
short  time ;  in  1777  it  was  worth  about  eighty  cents  per  silver 
dollar,  and  five  years  later  it  was  worth  nothing.  The  chief  rea 
son,  perhaps,  was  the  fact  that  the  Continental  Congress  had  no 


174 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


legal  right  to  issue  the  bills  and  could  therefore  make  no  valid 
law  for  the  redemption  of  them.  The  whole  country  was  flooded 
with  counterfeits  of  these  bills,  which  were  printed  in  England 
and  circulated  in  America  with  the  knowledge  of  the  British 
government.  Very  little  of  the  Continental  money  was  ever  re 
deemed. 

The  real  financial   power  of   the  War  of  the  Eevolution  was 
Robert  Morris.     His  strict  integrity  and  wonderful  ability  won 

the  confidence  of  bankers  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
Morris  More  than  once  he  borrowed  large  sums  of  money  on 

his  personal  security  in  order  that  the  plans  of  Gen 
eral  Washington  might  be  carried  out. 


THIRTY  Sellings        tfft  N°.  ?  7 


(J^HIS  Bill,   by  an  ORDINANCE  of  the  Provincial  Congrefs, 
fhall  pafs  current  in  all  Payments  within  the  COLONY  off 
NEW-JERSEY,  iorTHIRTT  SHILLINGS,  Proclamation | 
Money.     Dated  the  20th  Day  of  February  1776. 

)    THIRTY  SHILLINGS. 


CURRENCY  ISSUED  BY  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  Treaty  of  Paris.  1783.  —  The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at 
Paris,  September  3,  1783.  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Jay,  and 
John  Adams  were  the  American  commissioners.  The  treaty 
was  ratified  by  the  Congress  a  few  months  later,  on  January 
14,  1784. 

By  this  treaty  Great  Britain  relinquished  all  claims  to  the  gov 
ernment  and  territorial  rights  of  the  thirteen  states.  All  of  the 
region  on  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Canada  to  the."  Florida  country  " 
and  westward  to  the  Mississippi  River  was  given  into  the  posses 
sion  of  the  new  republic.  The  almost  unknown  territory  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  conceded  to  Spain.  East 


THE  WAR   OF  THE  REVOLUTION  175 

and  West  Florida,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi, 
were  returned  to  Spain  by  Great  Britain,  which  had  held  the  terri 
tory  since  1763.  Under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  United  States 
had  the  right  of  free  navigation  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  equal 
rights  with  Great  Britain  to  the  Newfoundland  fishing  j^nks. 
The  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  its  mouth 
was  free  and  open  to  both  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
Spain  at  this  time  held  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 


SUMMARY 

Washington  endeavored  to  hold  New  York  City  in  1776,  but  was 
forced  to  retreat  to  New  Jersey.  There  he  weakened  the  British  by 
a  number  of  unexpected  attacks,  the  most  important  of  which  was  at 
Trenton. 

The  king's  plan  provided  that  New  York  State  should  be  the  field  for 
operations.  Lord  Howe  was  to  ascend  the  Hudson,  General  Burgoyne 
was  to  move  southward  through  Lake  Champlain  Valley,  Colonel  St. 
Leger  was  to  proceed  eastward  from  Oswego.  The  forces  were  to  unite 
and  hold  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  valleys. 

Burgoyne  was  defeated,  and  surrendered  at  Saratoga  on  October  17, 
1777.  Colonel  St.  Leger  was  defeated  at  Oriskany.  Lord  Howe  did  not 
receive  his  orders ;  moreover,  he  was  compelled  to  hold  Philadelphia 
against  Washington's  troops. 

General  Sullivan  marched  against  the  Iroquoian  tribes  and  punished 
them  for  the  massacres  at  Cherry  and  Wyoming  valleys. 

George  Rogers  Clark,  with  a  force  of  men,  drove  the  British  from 
various  outposts  between  the  Appalachian  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi 
River. 

The  king  of  France  recognized  the  Americans  as  an  independent  power 
and  aided  them  with  ships  and  troops. 

After  the  failure  of  the  campaign  in  New  York,  the  king's  ministers, 
in  1778,  adopted  the  plan  of  invading  the  South,  and  thence  pushing  the 
troops  northward.  • 

In  this  plan  the  British  were  at  first  successful ;  an  American  army 
under  General  Lincoln  and  one  under  General  Gates  were  badly  defeated. 
Savannah  and  Charleston  were  captured. 

The  American  command  in  the  South  was  then  given  to  General 
Greene,  who  inflicted  a  severe  blow  on  the  British  at  Camden.  On 


176  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Yorktown  peninsula  Cornwallis  was  surrounded  by  Greene  and  Washing 
ton,  with  the  cooperation  of  the  French  fleet.  He  surrendered  on 
October  19,  1781. 

The  treaty  of  peace  by  which  Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  United  States  was  signed  in  Paris,  in  1783.  The  treaty 
gave  &*the  Americans  the  territory  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and 
the  Mississippi  River,  with  the  exception  of  the  Florida  country. 


COLLATERAL   READING 

The   American   Revolution  —  Fiske.      Vol.   I,   Chapters  V,   VI,  VII; 
Vol.  II,  Chapters  XIV,  XV. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Bancroft.     Vol.  V,  Chapters  III,  IV,  V. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  FORMATION  OF  A  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT 

Previous  Federations.  —  From  their  first  settlement  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  the  colonists  had  made  temporary  federations  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  Indians  and  for  other  The  New 
purposes.  In  May,  1643,  delegates  from  the  colonies  England 
of  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  and  New  Confederacy 
Haven  formed  a  federation  under  the  title  of  the  "  United  Colo 
nies  "  of  New  England,  commonly  called  the  New  England 
Confederacy.1  Articles  of  confederation  were  adopted  and  were 
observed  until  1684,  when  the  union  was  dissolved.  Every  year 
two  delegates  from  each  colony  met  in  convention  and  discussed 
matters  pertaining  to  the  general  welfare. 

In  1690,  six  years  after  the  New  England  federation  had  fallen 
apart,  trouble  with  the  French  settlers  and  the  Indians  in  Canada 
led  to  the  assembling,  in  New  York  City,  of  the  first  general  con 
gress  of  the  colonies,  and  as  a  result  a  league  was  formed  to  carry 
on  a  campaign  against  the  French  and  the  Indians. 

In  expectation  of  war  with  Canada,  then  in  possession  of  the 
French,  a  congress  in  Albany,2  in  1754,  declared  that  a  colonial 
union  was  absolutely  necessary.  A  plan  of  union  was 
offered  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  adopted  by  the  con- 
gress.  By  this  scheme,  commonly  known  as  the  Albany 
plan,  the  colonies  were  to  unite  under  a  central  government,  with 
a  president-general  appointed  by  the  British  Crown  and  a  grand 
council  chosen  by  the  people.  All  the  colonial  legislatures,  as 
has  been  noted,  rejected  the  plan,  because  in  each  colony  the 
people  feared  that  it  would  imperil  their  liberty.  In  England 
the  Board  of  Trade,  which  usually  acted  for  the  king  in  the 

i  See  page  81.  2  See  page  114. 

177 


178 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


government  of  the  colonies,  did  not  approve  of  this  plan,  because 
it  thought  the  colonists  would  have  too  much  liberty. 

The  War  of  the  Revolution,  which  was  in  progress  for  nearly  a 
year  before  independence  was  declared,  had  been  carried  on  by 
The  *ke  Continental  Congress,1  under  its  general  authority 

Continental  as  a  revolutionary  government.  This  Congress  at- 
Congress  tended  to  the  general  affairs  of  the  newly  created 
nation,  and  did  some  excellent  work  under  trying  circumstances. 
Its  powers  were  not  defined.  Since  its  acts  were  not  legally  bind 
ing  on  the  states,  it  had  no  power 
to  enforce  them  ;  each  state  indi 
vidually  accepted  or  rejected  at 
will  the  advices  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  It  was  simply  tolerated 
because  the  time  was  one  which 
threatened  the  life  of  the  nation. 

The    Articles    of    Confederation. 
1777-1778.  —  Under   these   condi 
tions    the    Continental    Congress 
saw  the  need  of  a  central,  or  fed 
eral,  government,  but   the    states 
for    a    time    were     reluctant    to 
accept    its     advices.      They     re 
modeled  their  own  governments, 
but  they  delayed  making  a  central 
governing    power    because    each 
state  feared  to  surrender  any  of 
its  authority.     The  experience  of 
the  states  with  the  British  Crown  had  made  them  suspicious  of 
a  national  power.      They  feared  that  the  proposed  government 
might  deprive  them  of  their  rights,  and  this  fear  was  not  over 
come  for  years.     But  because  of  the  perils  of  the  war  for  their 
independence,  they  consented  to  the  formation  of  a  confederation. 
The  "Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual   Union"  were 
approved  by  the  Continental  Congress  November  15,  1777.     A 
circular  letter  was  then  sent  to  each  state  legislature,  requesting 
i  See  pages  133, 141. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  A   FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT     179 

that  its  delegates  in  the  Congress  be  instructed  to  sign  the  articles. 
The  delegates  of  ten  states  signed  during  the  next  few  months. 
New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  however,  were  not  ready 
to  sign  because  they  objected  to  the  claim  of  several  states  to  the 
ownership  of  western  lands.  It  was  maintained  that  these  lands 
should  be  held  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  states.  After  consider 
able  controversy,  the  states  claiming  these  lands  agreed  to  cede 
them  to  the  United  States.1  By  March  1, 1781,  all  the  states  had 
ratified  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  the  Congress  proclaimed 
the  new  government  to  the  world.  For  the  next  eight  years  the 
thirteen  United  States  were  governed  by  these  Articles. 

The  Congress  of  the  Confederation  and  its  Powers.  —  The  general 
powers  of  the  Congress  were  strictly  defined  in  the  Articles  of 
Confederation.      The  Congress  exer 
cised   executive,  judicial,  and   legis 
lative   functions.     The  president   of 
the  Congress  was  the  chief  officer  of 
the  nation,  and  the  chairmen  of  the 
congressional    committees    were    the 
heads  of  the  executive  departments. 
The  Congress  consisted  of  but  one 
house  ;  it  met  annually  in  November, 
and  continued  in  session  as  long  as  it 
pleased  during  the  following  twelve         THE  GREAT  SEAL  OF  THE 
months.    When  it  was  not  in  session,  UNITED  STATES- 

the  public  affairs  were  carried  on  by  Adopted  in  1782> 

a  committee  of  states,  consisting  of  one  delegate  from  each  state. 
Not  fewer  than  two  nor  more  than  seven  delegates  could  be  sent 
to  the  Congress  by  each  state,  and  each  state  had  only  one  vote  in 
the  Congress  whatever  the  number  of  its  delegates.  To  amend 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  required  the  vote  of  every  state.2 

The  Congress  could  declare  war  and  peace,  call  upon  the  states 

1  See  page  187. 

2  The.  delegates  were  chosen  by  the  state  legislature  to  serve  for  one  year, 
but  they  could  be  recalled  at  any  time  and  others  sent  in  their  places.    No  dele 
gate  could  serve  for  more  than  three  consecutive  years.    The  delegates  were  paid 
by  the  states,  the  compensation  ranging  from  ten  to  twenty  dollars  a  day  and 
expenses.    The  voting  in  Congress  was  done  by  states. 


180  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

for  soldiers,  and  build  a  navy.  It  could  create  an  army  and  navy, 
and  direct  the  operations  of  the  military  and  naval  forces.  It 
could  enter  into  treaties  and  alliances  with  foreign  nations.  It 
could  borrow  money  and  coin  gold  and  silver.  It  could  appor 
tion  among  the  states  the  money  needed  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  the  government,  but  it  could  not  compel  a  state  to  pay  its 
apportionment. 

x  The  power  to  regulate  commerce  was  not  possessed  by  the  Con 
gress,  and  the  lack  of  this  power  was  a  fatal  weakness.  It  could 
not  levy  a  tax  of  any  kind  on  the  people,  or  place  duties  on 
exports  or  imports.  It  could  not  compel  the  states  to  comply 
with  its  requisitions. 

The  Need  of  a  Stronger  Government ;  a  Grave  Crisis.  —  It  was 
early  seen  that  the  Federal  government  established  by  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  was  a  complete  failure.  Without  the  power 
either  to  raise  money  or  to  compel  obedience,  it  was,  as  Washington 
said,  "a  half-starved,  limping  government,  always  moving  upon 
crutches  and  tottering  at  every  step."  Undoubtedly  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation  conducted  affairs  as  best  it  could,  but  it 
could  not  make  an  efficient  government  while  it  lacked  governing 
powers. 

Moreover,  the  states  did  not  properly  sustain  the  Federal  gov 
ernment  they  had  created.  After  the  Revolution  there  was  a 
disposition  to  treat  the  Federal  authority  with  indifference,  if  not 
with  contempt.  The  times  were  very  hard  through  the  country, 
and  all  the  industries  were  depressed.  Not  much  gold  and  silver 
were  in  circulation,  and  the  paper  money  issued  by  the  Congress 
had  little  value  at  home  and  no  purchasing  power  abroad.1 

1  To  add  to  the  confusion,  from  most  of  the  states  there  came  a  demand  for  the 
increased  issue  of  paper  money,  in  order  to  meet  the  emergency  caused  hy  the 
lack  of  gold  and  silver  coin.  In  the  Carolinas  the  hills  that  were  issued  immedi 
ately  fell  in  value,  until  the  merchants  refused  to  take  them.  In  Georgia  a  law 
was  passed  compelling  people  to  take  them,  but  its  only  effect  was  to  make  the 
bills  valueless.  In  New  York  and  New  Jersey  the  "  rag  money,"  as  it  was  called, 
caused  very  heavy  losses.  In  Rhode  Island  the  farmers,  who  were  chiefly  respon 
sible  for  the  rag  money  in  that  state,  attempted  to  boycott  the  merchants  who 
refused  to  take  it,  with  the  result  that  mobs  and  riots  prevailed  all  over  the  state. 
As  in  the  other  states,  the  only  result  was  the  lowering  of  the  value  of  the  money 
until  it  was  practically  worthless.  One  dollar  in  good  coin  was  equivalent  at 


THE  FORMATION   OF  A    FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT     181 

The  patriotism  of  the  revolutionary  days  for  a  time  seemed  to 
be  gone.  Each  state  seemed  to  think  it  had  enough  to  do  in 
looking  after  its  own  affairs ;  therefore  the  affairs  of  the  nation 
were  neglected.  Some  of  the  states  expressed  their  contempt  for 
the  Congress  by  sending  no  delegates  to  it.  It  was  very  apparent 
that  there  must  be  a  stronger  central  government,  "or  the  new 
American  republic  would  cease  to  exist. 

During  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  the  Congress  had  borrowed 
considerable  sums  of  money  from  capitalists  in  France,  Holland, 
and   elsewhere.     But   after   the  war  had   closed,  the 
national   finances  were  in  such  a  bad  state  that  the      weakness 
money  lenders  would  not  give  gold  and  silver  in  ex 
change  for  the  government's  promises.    The  Congress  was  obliged 
to  depend  on  the  states  for  the  means  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
government,  and  the  failure  of  the  states  to  provide  the  means 
caused  serious  embarrassments.     The  interest  on  the  public  debt 
was  not  paid,  and  other  obligations  were  unsatisfied. 

It  was  thought  that  if  the  Congress  had  power  to  levy  direct 
taxes  and  duties  on  imports,  much  of  the  weakness  of  the  Federal 
government  would  be  removed,  and  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was 
made  to  secure  this  power.  The  Congress  then  asked  the  states 
for  power  to  levy  a  duty  of  five  per  cent  on  imports  for  twenty- 
five  years,  the  money  to  be  used  in  paying  the  interest  on  the 
public  debt.  The  proposition  was  favored  by  all  the  states  except 
New  York,  but  through  this  opposition  the  plan  failed. 

Treaties  with  foreign  powers  were  frequently  violated  in  the 
ports  of  some  states,  and  the  Congress  was  powerless  in  the 
matter.  Each  state  had  its  own  system  of  export  and 
import  duties.  The  result  was  a  very  bad  condition 
of  affairs.  Merchants  trading  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
as  well  as  those  trading  with  foreign  lands  were  seriously  affected 
by  it.  When  the  states  had  entered  the  Confederation,  they  had 
retained  the  right  to  regulate  their  own  commerce.  For  this 
reason  the  Congress  could  do  nothing  to  improve  matters.  Once 

one  time  to  about  five  hundred  currency  dollars.  A  majority  of  the  people  had 
not  learned  the  wholesome  lesson  that  legislative  bodies  cannot  create  something 
with  value  out  of  nothing. 


182 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMEEICAN  NATION 


Danger  of 
disunion 


there  was  an  effort  to  get  the  consent  of  the  states  to  a  national 
commercial  system,  but  they  refused  to  consider  the  subject. 
Merchandise  and  agricultural  products  shipped  from  one  state  to 
another  were  heavily  taxed,  and  this  naturally  caused  a  great 
deal  of  bad  feeling.1 

It  was,  indeed,  a  critical  period.  The  union  of  the  states,  which 
had  been  formed  under  the  pressure  of  a  common  dan 
ger,  had  now  become  a  very  loose  one.  Each  state  was 
virtually  independent,  and  it  heeded  the  Federal  gov 
ernment  or  not,  as  it  pleased.  European  statesmen  had  no  confi 
dence  whatever  in 
the  stability  of  the 
Federal  union.  Wise 
leaders  in  America 
saw  that  the  states 
would  fall  apart  and 
become  separate 
communities,  unless 
the  powers  of  the 
Federal  government 
we,re  extended. 
They  strove  to  se 
cure  from  the  states 
concessions  which 
would  give  strength 
to  the  nation  and 
prevent  its  dissolu 
tion. 

The  Annapolis  Con 
vention.  1786.  —  In 
1785  the  Virginia 
Assembly  passed  a 
resolution  inviting 
the  states  to  send 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL,  PHILADELPHIA. 

Here  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Con 
stitution  were  signed. 

1  This  was  especially  true  of  produce  shipped  from  Connecticut  and  from  New 
Jersey  to  New  York  City ;  a  great  deal  of  smuggling  and  fighting  resulted. 


delegates  to  a  con- 


THE  FORMATION  OF  A  FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT     183 

vention  to  be  held  at  Annapolis,  in  order  to  consider  a  national 
system  for  the  regulation  of  commerce.  When  the  convention 
met  the  next  year,  only  five  states  were  represented,  and  there 
fore  the  consideration  of  commercial  regulations  was  postponed. 
The  delegates,  however,  adopted  an  address  written  by  Alexander 
Hamilton,  recommending  to  the  states  that  a  convention  be  held 
at  Philadelphia,  to  take  such  steps  as  might  render  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  effective.  The  states  generally  approved,  and 
the  Congress  authorized  that  the  convention  be  held. 

The  Federal  Convention.  1787.  —  The  Federal  convention,  called 
in  May,  1787,  for  the  purpose  of  revising  the  Articles  of  Confed 
eration,  was  composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  states  except  Rhode 
Island.  Washington  was  unanimously  chosen  its  president.1 
Instead  of  revising  the  Articles  of  Confederation  the  convention 
decided  at  once  to  devise  a  new  system  of  government  which 
would  be  adequate,  not  only  to  the  present  need  of  the  republic, 
but  to  the  future  as  well.2 

1  All  the  proceedings  were  secret,  and  little  was  known  of  them  for  a  long  time. 
Eventually,  the  official  records  and  the  notes  of  the  debates  made  by  James  Madi 
son  and  others  were  published. 

2  Four  plans  of  government  came  before  the  convention. 

The  Virginia  plan,  presented  by  Edmund  Randolph,  the  governor  of  Virginia, 
was  prepared  mainly  by  James  Madison.  It  proposed  a  national  government  to  be 
so  conducted  "  that  the  idea  of  states  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  " ;  it  should 
have  every  power  necessary  to  make  it  an  efficient  central  government,  including 
the  power  to  tax  and  to  enforce  the  laws.  The  Congress,  consisting  of  two 
branches,  was  also  to  have  a  veto  on  state  legislation.  A  national  executive, 
appointed  by  the  Congress,  was  to  have  power  to  carry  on  the  affairs  of  the 
government. 

The  South  Carolina  plan  had  some  of  the  features  of  the  Virginia  plan,  and  some 
that  were  original.  Its  most  distinctive  feature  was  a  provision  for  a  "  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America  "  who  was  to  be  called  "  his  Excellency." 

The  New  Jersey  plan  proposed  what  was  scarcely  more  than  a  revision  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  The  Congress  was  to  remain  a  single  body,  but  was 
to  have  the  power  of  taxation  and  to  regulate  foreign  and  domestic  commerce. 
There  was  to  be  an  executive  council,  and  also  United  States  courts. 

The  fourth  plan  was  offered  by  Alexander  Hamilton  of  New  York.  His  plan 
proposed  a  congress  of  two  houses,  with  legislative  power  sufficient  to  administer 
national  affairs.  A  "Chief  Executive,"  to  hold  office  for  life,  was  to  have  the 
"  supreme  executive  authority." 

The  four  plans  were  thoroughly  discussed.  The  convention  discarded  Hamil 
ton's  and  New  Jersey's  plans  and  eventually  accepted  the  best  features  of  the 
other  two  plans. 


184  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Making  the  Constitution.  1787.  — :The  ground  plan  of  the  Con 
stitution  that  gradually  took  shape  provided  that  the  government 
should  be  vested  in  — 

A  legislative  body,  or  Congress,  consisting  of  a  Senate  and  a 
House  of  Representatives.  In  the  Senate  each  state  should 
have  two  members  ;  in  the  House  of  Representatives  the 
number  of  members  should  be  in  proportion  to  the  population 
of  the  state. 

An  executive  body  consisting  of  a  President  and  a  Vice-President. 

A  judicial  body  consisting  of  a  supreme  court  and  various  inferior 
courts. 

It  was  also  conceded,  after  a  long  discussion,  that  — 

Five  slaves  should  be  counted  as  three  freemen  in  estimating 

the  population  for  apportioning  representatives. 
The  Congress  might  regulate  foreign  commerce. 
Exports  should  not  be  taxed. 
The  importation  of  slaves  should  not  be  forbidden  before  1808. 

Finally  the  work  was  finished.  On  September  17,  1787,  the 
Constitution  was  signed  by  George  Washington  as  president  of 

the  convention  and 
by  thirty-eight  of 
the  delegates.  The 

other  sixteen  would 

.         , 

not      sign     because 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  WASHINGTON.  , ,  ,  .     .    ,   , 

they  objected  to  cer 
tain  clauses  which  they  believed  interfered  with  the  rights  of 
the  states. 

The  People's  Conventions.  1787-1788. — In  each  state,  except 
Ehode  Island,1  a  convention  of  delegates  chosen  by  the  people 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  ratifying  or  rejecting  the  Constitution. 
There  was  more  or  less  opposition  to  the  new  plan  of  government 
in  most  of  the  conventions,  and  in  some  of  them  the  opposition 
was  very  strong ;  in  the  main,  it  arose  from  the  fear  of  giving 
too  much  power  to  the  Federal  government.  The  people  had  not 

1  In  Rhode  Island  the  Constitution  was  submitted  to  the  freemen  at  town 
meetings. 


THE  FORMATION   OF  A    FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT     185 

forgotten  the  tyranny  of  George  III.  But  by  the  last  of  June, 
1788,  the  people  of  nine  states  (the  necessary  two  thirds  majority) 
had  ratified  the  Constitution.1 


Redrawn  from  an  old  print. 

CELEBRATING  THE  ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

The  picture  represents  a  procession  in  New  York  City,  of  which  the  most 
imposing  part  was  the  "  Ship  of  State  "  on  wheels. 

On  the  20th  of  September,  1788,  the  new  Constitution  was  pre 
sented  to  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  then  sitting  in  the 

1  Delaware  was  the  first  state  to  ratify  by  a  unanimous  vote.  Nine  other  states 
ratified  shortly  afterward.  When  Massachusetts,  South  Carolina,  New  Hamp 
shire,  Virginia,  and  New  York  ratified,  they  recommended  various  amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  which  they  regarded  as  "necessary  to  remove  the  fears  and 
allay  the  apprehensions  of  the  people."  After  the  constitutional  government  had 
been  in  operation  for  some  time,  the  people  of  North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island 
changed  their  minds  and  ratified  the  Constitution.  They  had  been  practically  out 
of  the  Union.  The  dates  and  order  of  ratification  are  :  Delaware,  December  6, 
1787;  Pennsylvania,  December  12,  1787;  New  Jersey,  December  18,  1787;  Georgia, 
January  2, 1788  ;  Connecticut,  January  9, 1788  ;  Massachusetts,  February  6, 1788  ; 
Maryland,  April  28, 1788  ;  South  Carolina,  May  23, 1788  ;  New  Hampshire,  June  21, 
1788  ;  Virginia,  June  25, 1788  ;  New  York,  July  26, 1788  ;  North  Carolina,  Novem 
ber  21,  1789;  Rhode  Island,  May  29,  1790: 


186  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

City  Hall  in  New  York.  The  Congress  accepted  it  and  ordered 
that  the  government  under  the  present  Constitution  should  begin 
its  existence  on  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  in  the  city  of  New  York.1 

The  National  Domain  in  1783.  —  At  the  close  of  the  War  of  the 
Eevolution,  the  United  States  was  practically  without  definite 
limits  or  boundaries,  except  the  one  that  nature  had  created  on  the 
Atlantic  coast.  The  boundaries  between  the  states  w  ere  not  wholly 
settled  for  about  a  century,  while  the  settlement  of  the  national 
boundary  caused  international  disputes  for  more  than  a  century. 

The  treaty  of  Paris  gave  to  the  Americans  an  area  less  than  one 
third  the  present  area  of  the  main  body  of  the  United  States. 
The  northern  boundary,  from  the  eastern  point  of  Maine  to  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  was  approximately  the  boundary  of  to-day. 
The  British  claimed  a  narrow  strip  on  the  southern  border  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  Eiver  and  the  Great  Lakes.  Spain  owned  Florida 
and  the  great  region  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Taking  advantage 
of  the  weakness  of  the  United  States,  she  seized  the  area  com 
prised  in  the  present  states  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama,  and  held 
ifc  for  some  twelve  years. 

Territorial  Claims  of  the  States.  —  South  of  Virginia,  which  then 
included  the  present  state  of  Kentucky,  the  region  belonged 
Territory  mainly  to  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  but  South  Caro- 
south  of  lina  also  claimed  a  narrow  strip ;  all  these  states 
claimed  the  land  westward  to  the  Mississippi,  although 
Spain  occupied  the  part  of  it  that  was  included  in  Florida.  Con 
cerning  the  land  south  of  the  Ohio  Eiver  there  was  little  dispute. 

The  "  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  "  was  claimed  in  part  by 
several  states.  Directly  after  the  Eevolution  there  was  consider- 
The  able  emigration  to  the  little-known  country  northwest 

Northwest  of  the  Ohio  Eiver.  This  Northwest  Territory,  as  it 
Territory  wag  caj]e^  ^a(j  j.jeen  reserved  by  Great  Britain  after 
the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  as  "Crown  lands," 

1  The  establishment  of  the  new  government  was  an  act  of  revolution  for  the 
reason  that  provision  was  made  that  it  should  go  into  effect  without  the  ap 
proval  of  two  states.  The  convention  of  1787  had  no  authority  to  provide  the 
means  of  setting  aside  the  Articles  of  Confederation  except  by  the  unanimous  con 
sent  of  the  states  in  the  confederation. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  A  FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT     187 

exclusively  for  the  Indians,  and  the  American  colonists  were 
forbidden  to  occupy  it.  During  the  War  of  the  Ee volution,  how 
ever,  Virginia  troops  under  George  Rogers  Clark  took  possession 
of  it,  and  it  was  therefore  held  by  right  of  conquest.1 

At  first  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  was  claimed  by  Vir 
ginia  under  her  original  charter;  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  also  claimed,  under  their  charters,  some         cessions 
portion  of  the  region;  and  jSTew  York,  by  reason  of 
treaties  made  with  the  Indians,  laid  claim  to  a  very  large  tract. 


FORT  WASHINGTON  IN  1789. 

This  fort,  built  for  the  protection  of  settlers  in  the  Northwest  Territory, 
was  the  beginning  of  Cincinnati. 

Each  of  the  other  states  demanded  some  of  this  land,  and  strongly 
resisted  the  claims  of  the  four  states.  The  four  states  finally 
(1781-1786)  agreed  to  surrender  their  claims  to  the  general  govern 
ment,  on  a  pledge  from  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  that 
the  lands  should  be  formed  into  states,  which  should  "become 
members  of  the  union,  and  have  the  same  rights  as  the  other 
states." 

The  Ordinance  of  1787. — Emigrants  from  the  states  settled  in 
the  fertile  lands  of  the  Korthwest  Territory  in  increasing  numbers 

1  See  page  162. 


188  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

from  year  to  year.  The  Congress  planned  a  form  of  government 
for  this  territory  which,  for  the  greater  part,  is  still  used  in 
governing  the  territories  of  the  United  States.  This  plan  of 
government  was  set  forth  in  an  ordinance  passed  in  1787. 

Jefferson  was  very  desirous  that  slavery  should  be  prohibited 
in  the  new  territory,1  and  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation 
included  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787  a  provision  forbidding  slave- 
holding  anywhere  within  the  Northwest  Territory.  The  First 
Congress 2  of  the  United  States  under  the  new  Constitution  (1789) 
confirmed  this  ordinance. 

The  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the  Northwest  Territory  by  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  was  far-reaching  in  its  effects.  There  were 
many  who  declared  that  the  Congress  had  no  right  or  power 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  to  pass  such  an  act,  yet  there 
was  scarcely  a  protest  against  it  throughout  the  country.3  It  fully 
illustrates  the  proposition  that,  unless  a  central  government  has 
broad  powers,  in  a  time  of  emergency  it  is  very  apt  to  take 
them,  whether  constitutional  or  not. 

SUMMARY 

Every  attempt  to  organize  a  federation  of  the  colonies  with  any  cen 
tralized  governing  power  was  resisted  by  the  colonists. 

From  1774  to  1781  the  general  conduct  of  the  war  was  directed  by  the 
various  Continental  Congresses. 

From  1781  to  1789  the  Congress  was  subject  to  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation.  Under  these  the  Congress  had  no  power  to  direct  commer 
cial  affairs  or  to  raise  money  by  taxation.  Abroad,  there  was  no  faith 
in  the  stability  of  the  Union ;  at  home,  the  country  was  drifting  toward 
anarchy. 

In  1785  the  Virginia  Assembly  arranged  for  a  convention  which  was 

1  In  1784  Jefferson  introduced  in  the  Congress  an  ordinance  for  the  government 
of  the  Northwest  Territory,  with  a  provision  for  the  exclusion  of  slavery,  but  the 
Congress  rejected  that  clause. 

2  Since  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution  each  Congress  is  designated 
by  number. 

a  Some  years  later  a  number  of  petitions  were  sent  to  the  Congress  from 
Indiana  and  Illinois  by  those  who  favored  the  introduction  of  slavery,  asking  for 
the  suspension  or  the  repeal  of  the  anti-slavery  clause  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787. 
In  each  case  the  Congress  declined  to  grant  the  petition. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  A   FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT     189 

held  the  next  year  at  Annapolis,  at  which  only  five  states  were  repre 
sented.  This  convention  asked  for  a  convention  to  revise  the  Articles  of 
Confederation. 

The  Federal  Convention,  which  met  in  May,  1787,  prepared  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  which  was  ratified  by  the  states. 

The  Congress  of  the  Confederation  ordered  that  the  government  of  the 
United  States  under  the  present  Constitution  should  begin  March  4, 1789. 

Various  states  claimed  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  but 
they  yielded  their  claims  and  gave  the  lands  to  the  general  government 
to  be  made  later  into  new  states. 

The  Congress  of  the  Confederation  passed  the  Ordinance  of  1787  pro 
viding  for  the  government  of  the  Northwest  Territory  and  forbidding 
slavery  within  its  area.  The  First  Congress  of  the  United  States  con 
firmed  this  ordinance. 


COLLATERAL   READING 

Critical  Period  of  American  History  —  Fiske.     Chapters  IV,  VI. 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  —  Appendix,  page  8. 


CHAPTER   XIII 


STARTING  THE  WHEELS  OF    GOVERNMENT  AND  ADJUSTING 
INTERNATIONAL  AFFAIRS 

The  Election  of  Washington  and  Adams.  1789.  —  On  March  4, 
1789,  eight  senators  and  thirteen  representatives  of  the  new 
Congress  assembled  in  the  City  Hall  of  New  York  City,  and  011 
the  6th  of  April  the  Congress  was  ready  for  business.  On 
that  day  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  .Representatives  assembled 

in  joint  session,  and 
the  votes  cast  by  the 
presidential  electors  in 
the  several  states  were 
opened  and  counted.1 
The  count  showed  that 
George  Washington 
was  elected  President, 
and  John  Adams  Vice- 
President. 


From  an  old  print. 

THE  OLD  CITY  HALL,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


On  the  21st  of  April 
Adams  was  installed 
as  Vice-President,  and  on  the  30th  Washington  was  inaugurated  as 
President.  He  took  the  oath  of  office  on  the  balcony  of  the  City 
Hall  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  spectators.  Afterward  he 


1  The  system  adopted  for  the  election  of  the  President  was  peculiar.  The 
people  were  to  vote  for  electors,  not  directly  for  the  President.  Each  state 
should  choose  as  many  electors  as  it  had  senators  and  representatives  in  the 
Congress,  The  electors  of  each  state  by  themselves  were  to  vote  for  two  men  for 
President.  The  man  receiving  the  majority  of  votes  from  the  electors  became 
President,  and  the  man  receiving  the  next  largest  number  became  Vice-President. 
(See  page  206.) 

190 


STARTING   THE   WHEELS   OF  GOVERNMENT          191 

delivered  an  inaugural  address  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  Thus 
the  new  Federal  government  was  happily  begun. 

First  Acts  of  the  Congress ;  the  First  Tariff.  1789.  —  During 
its  first  months  the  Congress  was  busily  engaged  in  arranging 
the  details  of  the  new  system  of  government.  The  first  thing 
was  to  provide  a  way  by  which  the  government  could  pay  its 
current  expenses  and  the  debts  which  had  come  to  it  from  the  old 
confederation.  To  raise  the  money  for  these  purposes  an  act  was 
passed  putting  duties  on  articles  of  foreign  manufacture.  In  the 
preamble  of  the  act  it  was  stated  that  the  tariff  was  "necessary 
for  the  support  of  the  government,  and  for  the  encouragement 
and  protection  of  manufactures."  This  was  the  first  tariff  act, 
and  the  beginning  of  the  policy  of  protection  to  American  manu 
factures.  Another  act  was  passed  placing  duties  on  the  tonnage 
of  vessels  bringing  merchandise  to  the  United  States.  Foreign- 
built  vessels  were  taxed  fifty  cents  a  ton,  but  American-built  ves 
sels  only  six  cents  a  ton.  This  discrimination  was  intended  to 
encourage  home  shipbuilding. 

Executive  Departments.  —  Three  departments  to  carry  on  the 
executive  work  of  the  government  were  created  by  the  Congress. 
The  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  at  once  established ;  after 
ward  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Department  of  State,  and  its 
head  was  called  the  secretary  of  state.  The  President  appointed 
to  this  office  Thomas  Jefferson  of  Virginia,  then  United  States 
minister  to  France. 

The  second  department  created  was  the  War  Department,  which 
was  to  have  charge  of  military  affairs.  General  Henry  Knox  of 
Massachusetts,  a  famous  soldier,  was  made  the  head  of  the  depart 
ment,  with  the  title  of  secretary  of  war. 

The  Treasury  Department  was  the  third  department  created, 
and  to  it  was  given  the  management  of  the  government's  finances. 
Alexander  Hamilton,1  a  brilliant  lawyer  of  New  York,  was  ap- 

1  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  (1757-1804)  was  born  on  the  island  of  Nevis,  West 
Indies.  He  was  educated  at  King's  College  (Columbia  University).  He  served 
in  the  Revolution  as  Washington's  aid-de-camp,  winning  distinction  at  York- 
town.  More  than  any  one  else  he  was  influential  in  the  framing  and  adoption  of 
the  Constitution.  In  1789  Washington  appointed  him  secretary  of  the  treasury. 
In  1799  he  was  chosen  commander-iii-chief  of  the  army.  He  was  killed  in  a  duel 


192  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

pointed  to  the  office  of  secretary.  Hamilton  at  once  devised  a 
remarkable  system  for  the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the 
department  —  a  system  so  complete  that  much  of  it  has  been 
retained  to  this  day.  He  was  secretary  of  the  treasury  for  five 
years,  and  in  that  time  put  the  finances  of  the  government  on  a 
sound  basis. 

The  heads  of  the  three  executive  departments,  together  with 
the  attorney -general,  were  the  President's  advisers.1 

The  Federal  Courts.  —  By  the  Judiciary  Act,  the  Congress  estab 
lished  United  States  courts  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
the  Constitution,  creating  a  Federal  judiciary.  A  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  which  was  to  be  the  highest  legal  tribunal 
in  the  country,  and  a  number  of  circuit  and  district  courts  were 
established.  It  was  provided  that  the  Supreme  Court  should 
have  a  chief  justice  and  five  associate  justices.  John  Jay  of  New 
York  was  appointed  chief  justice. 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution.  1791.  — Early  in  the  session 
of  the  First  Congress  a  number  of  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
were  offered  by  members  from  New  York,  Virginia,  and  other 
states.  There  was  a  long  debate  over  these  proposed  amend 
ments.  Finally,  twelve  of  them  were  adopted  by  the  Congress, 
and,  in  accordance  with  the  constitutional  provision  for  amend 
ment,  were  laid  before  the  states  to  be  ratified.  The  states  ratified 
ten  amendments,  and  on  December  15,  1791,  they  became  a  part 
of  the  Constitution.  These  amendments  were  intended  to  satisfy 
the  people  who  had  demanded  them  before  the  Constitution  was 
adopted.  Among  other  things  they  prohibited  the  Congress  from 
interfering  with  freedom  of  religious  worship,  freedom  of  speech, 
and  freedom  of  the  press.  They  constituted  practically  a  bill  of 
rights.2 

The  Public  Debt.  —  In  1790  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  secretary 

with  Aaron  Burr.  Hamilton  combined  with  brilliancy,  grace,  and  vigor,  a  won 
derfully  logical  and  penetrating  mind. 

1  The  heads  of  departments  at  first  met  informally  for  consultation  with  the 
President.     In  his  second  term  Washington  called  them  together  regularly,  and 
out  of  this  practice  grew  the  present  system  of  cabinet  meetings,  at  which  the 
President  and  the  secretaries  of  departments  regularly  advise  together. 

2  See  Appendix,  page  20. 


STA'RTING  THE  WHEELS  OF  GOVERNMENT       193 


of  the  treasury,  submitted  a  report  showing  that  the  nation  owed 
at  home  and  abroad  the  enormous  sum  of  $54,124,463,  of  which 
the  foreign  debt  was  $  11,710,378.  Hamilton  urged  the  Congress 
to  arrange  a  plan  for  paying  this  indebtedness  in  full,  with  interest. 
He  declared  that  if  this  were  done  the  national  credit,  then  in  a 
very  low  state,  would  eventually  become  equal  to  that  of  any 
country  in  Europe.  Little  opposition  was  made  in.  the  Congress 
to  paying  the  foreign  indebtedness.  There  was  great  opposition, 
however,  to  paying  the  domestic 
debt.  It  was  declared  by  many 
members  of  the  Congress  that 
much  of  the  domestic  debt  would 
be  paid  to  speculators  who  had 
bought  the  securities  at  a  low 
price,  and  who  would  make  an 
immense  profit  if  the  securities 
should  be  paid  in  full.  Therefore 
it  was  argued  that  it  would  not 
be  right  to  pay  dollar  for  dollar 
for  this  portion  of  the  public 
debt.  The  majority  admitted  this 
fact,  but  held  that  the  Congress 
had  no  right  to  refuse  the  pay 
ment  of  a  single  dollar  of  indebt 
edness  because  speculators  had 

taken  advantage  of  the  nation's  financial  distress.  There  was  a 
long  debate  about  the  matter  in  the  Congress ;  but  it  was  decided 
to  do  as  Hamilton  had  recommended.  The  Congress  arranged  a 
plan  by  which  payment  of  the  entire  indebtedness  of  the  nation, 
both  principal  and  interest,  was  to  be  made  out  of  moneys  received 
from  the  sale  of  public  lands  and  from  the  surplus  of  import 
duties. 

In  addition  to  the  foreign  and  domestic  debts,  there  were  debts 
amounting  to  about  $21,000,000  which  the  states  had  incurred  in 
carrying  on  the  War  of  the  Eevolution.  Hamilton  proposed  that 
the  Federal  government  should  pay  these  state  debts.  This  pro 
posal  was  violently  opposed.  Finally,  when  the  question  of  the 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 


194  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

location  of  the  Federal  capital  was  under  discussion,  a  compromise 
was  made  ;  a  few  Southern  congressmen  gave  their  votes  in  favor 
The  perma-  °^  tne  assumption  of  state  debts  provided  the  capital 
nent  seat  of  should  be  located  on  the  Potomac.  It  was  decided 
government  ^799)  that  the  government  should  remove  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia,  there  to  remain  for  ten  years,  and  then 
(1800)  it  should  be  permanently  located  in  the  region  on  the 
Potomac  River  now  known  as  the  District  of  Columbia.1 

A  Federal  Bank.  1791.  —  A  plan  to  establish  a  Bank  of  the 
United  States  was  presented  to  the  Congress  by  Secretary  Ham 
ilton,  who  believed  that  such  an  institution  would  be  of  great 
benefit  to  the  government  in  its  financial  operations.  At  this 
time  the  Treasury  Department  used  private  banks  as  places  of 
deposit,  because  the  Congress  had  provided  no  treasury  for 
the  safe-keeping  of  the  government  funds. 

Hamilton's  measure  had  many  opponents  on  the  ground  that 
the  Congress  had  no  power  under  the  Constitution  to  establish  a 
national  bank.  The  National  Bank  Act,  however,  was  passed  by 
the  Congress  and  was  approved  by  President  Washington.  Before 
signing  the  bill  Washington  got  the  written  opinions  of  Hamilton 
and  Jefferson  as  to  its  constitutionality.  Hamilton  said  that  the 
Bank  measure  was  constitutional,  while  Jefferson  maintained 
that  it  was  unconstitutional ;  Washington  accepted  Hamilton's 
view. 

The  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  accordingly  chartered  in 
1791  for  twenty  years,  and  was  shortly  afterward  established  at 
Philadelphia.  During  its  existence  of  twenty  years  it  handled 
nearly  all  the  government  money,  and  was  of  great  assistance  to 
the  Treasury  Department. 

The  United  States  Mint.  —  Up  to  the  time  of  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  English  coins  mainly  were  used  in  business  transac 
tions.  Spanish  and  Dutch  coins  were  common,  and  the  Spanish 
"  milled  dollar  " 2  for  a  time  was  standard  money.  During  the 
war,  and  for  some  time  afterward,  almost  anything  in  the  way  of 

1  Maryland,  in  1788,  and  Virginia,  in  1789,  ceded  land  to  a  total  area  of  one 
hundred  square  miles  to  make  the  District  of  Columbia. 

2  So  named  from  the  raised  rim,  or  edge,  which  prevented  defacement. 


STARTING   THE   WHEELS   OF  GOVERNMENT 


195 


A  SILVER  PENNY  OF 
1792.2 


a  coin  would  pass.  A  great  deal  of  "  scrip,"  or  paper  money,  was 
also  issued  by  the  various  states,  and  much  of  it  was  never  redeemed. 
The  Constitution  forbade  the  states  to  coin  money,  and  so  it 
became  necessary  to  take  steps  for  a  national  coinage.  The  Con 
gress  therefore  provided  (1792)  a  mint  at 
Philadelphia,  to  which  any  one  might  take 
gold  or  silver  and  have  it  refined  and 
made  into  coins  free  of  charge.  It  was 
also  provided  that  the  value  of  gold  should 
be,  weight  for  weight,  just  fifteen  times 
that  of  silver ;  that  is,  the  ratio  was  fifteen 
to  one.1  ^*r 

The   First   Political   Parties.  —  The  pas 
sage  of  the  National  Bank  Act  drew  clearly 
the  lines  between  two  political  parties  that 
had  already  been  existing  for  some  time.    The  followers  of  Hamil 
ton  were  known  as  Federalists.    They  desired  that  the 
Federal  government  should  have  strong  authority,  and     Federalists 
therefore  that  the    powers  granted  it  in  the  Consti 
tution  should  be  broadly  construed ;  they 
were  called  "  loose  constructionists." 

Those  who  held  the  same  views  as 
Thomas  Jefferson  were  called  Anti-federal 
ists.  They  were  "  strict  con- 

....          ,    ,.  -,    .-,  The  Anti- 

structiomsts,"  and  favored  the     federalists 

plan  of  making  the  state, 
rather  than  the  Federal  government,  the 
stronger  power.  The  Anti-federalists  were 
continually  battling  against  the  extension 
of  the  power  of  the  national  government.  They  interpreted  the 
Constitution  strictly  according  to  its  terms,  and  would  not  concede 
to  the  Federalists  the  right  to  do  otherwise. 

1  It  was  subsequently  made  sixteen  to  one. 

2  This  coin  bore  on  one  side  a  portrait  of  Washington.    He  objected  to  this, 
and  it  was  therefore  ordered  that  "  an  impression  emblematic  of  Liberty  "  should 
be  substituted  for  the  head  of  the  President. 

a  The  other  side  of  the  coin  bears  a  head  of  Washington.    The  coin  was  used 
in  trade  with  England,  and  was  called  the  Liverpool  halfpenny. 


AN  EARLY  AMERICAN 
COIN  .3 


196 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Vermont 


New  States.  1791-1802.  —  Just  after  the  beginning  of  the  Wai 
of  the  Revolution  the  people  of  Vermont  were  refused  recognition 
in  the  Continental  Congress,  on  the  ground  that  Ver 
mont  was  not  a  separate  colony.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  region  was  claimed  by  both  New  York  and  New  Hampshire. 
The  freemen  therefore  declared  themselves  (1777)  a  sovereign 
state  under  the  name  of  "New  Connecticut,  alias  Vermont."  In 
the  course  of  a  few  years,  however,  the  claims  of  these  states 
were  settled,  New  York  receiving  $30,000  for  lands  which  she 
claimed.  Vermont  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  1791,  and  was 
the  fourteenth  state. 

The  Kentucky  region  was  a  part  of  Virginia.     The  Virginians 
were  willing  to  give  up  the  region  to  the  general  government, 
but  they  were  unwilling   to   have    slavery  excluded, 
according   to    the    provisions    made    for    the   North 
west  Territory  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787.     Kentucky  finally;  with 
slavery,  came  into  the  Union  as  the  fifteenth  state,  in  1792. 

The  region  of  Tennessee  was  claimed  by  North  Carolina,  and 
when  the  latter  expressed  a  willingness  to  cede  her  claims  to  the 
general  government,  under  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  the 
Tennesseeans  would  have  none  of  it,  because  it  inter 
fered  with  slavery.  They  organized  a  state  of  their  own,  naming 

it  Franklin.  Some 
of  the  people  ob 
jected  to  this,  and 
declared  that  they 
were  still  a  part 
of  North  Carolina. 
The  North  Caro 
lina  party  finally 
prevailed,  and  the 
state  of  Franklin 
was  abandoned. 
With  the  consent  of  North  Carolina,  Tennessee  was  admitted  to 
the  Union  in  1796,  as  the  sixteenth  state. 

Within  a  few  months  after  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
the  Congress  sold  five  million  acres  of  the  northwestern  lands  to 


Tennessee 


PlONEEKS   TKAVifcLlNG   BY   FLATBOAT   ON   THE   OHIO 

RIVER. 


STARTING    THE    WHEELS   OF  GOVERNMENT 


197 


Ohio 


individuals  and  companies.  The  money  received  from  the  sale 
was  used  to  pay  some  of  the  pressing  indebtedness  of  the 
Federal  government.  Among  the  buyers  of  the  lands 
was  the  famous  Ohio  Company,  which  purchased  at  a  low  price 
a  tract  of  a  mil 
lion  and  a  half 
acres  of  rich 
lands  between 
the  Ohio  River 
and  Lake  Erie. 
Through  its  ef 
forts  thousands 
of  intelligent, 
thrifty  people 
from  many  parts 
of  the  Eastern 
states  emigrated 
to  the  Northwest 
Territory,  and 
established  set 
tlements  there. 
In  1800  the  ter 
ritory  was  divided,  and  Indiana  Territory2  was  organized,  with 
its  seat  of  government  at  Vincennes.  In  1802  the  settlers 
were  able  to  organize  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  have  it  admitted 
to  the  Union.  Ohio,  the  seventeenth  state,  was  the  first  of 
the  several  states  which  were  formed  out  of  the  Northwest 
Territory. 

The  Presidential  Election    of    1792.  —  In  the  summer  of  1792 
Washington  was  requested  by  leading  members  of  both  political 

1  The  area  of  the  present  state  of  Ohio  was  settled  by  various  land  companies 
which  purchased  districts.     When  Connecticut  ceded  her  western  land  claims  to 
the  Federal  government  in  1786,  she  reserved  a  section  known  as  the  Western 
Reserve.     Part  of  this  land  the  state  gave  to  certain  citizens,  and  part  was  sold 
to  a  land  company.    Virginia,  likewise,  reserved  a  section  to  he  used  to  pay  her 
revolutionary  soldiers.      The  Ohio  Company  was  a  New  England  organization 
directed  by  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler  of  Massachusetts. 

2  See  map  on  page  228. 


The  M.-N.Work» 


THE  DISTRICTS  OF  Onio.1 


198  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

parties  to  accept  another  term  of  office.  He  consented,  and  was 
duly  reelected  without  opposition.  The  vice-presidency,  how 
ever,  was  contested.  John  Adams  was  the  Federalist  candidate, 
and  George  Clinton  of  New  York  was  the  Anti-federalist  candi 
date.  Adams  was  elected. 

The  Fugitive-Slave  Law.  1793.  —  The  first  fugitive-slave  law 
was  enacted  by  the  Congress  in  1793.  By  this  law  the  owner  of 
an  escaping  slave  might  seize  the  slave  anywhere  in  the  United 
States  that  he  might  be  found.  Upon  proof  that  the  person 
seized  was  a  fugitive  slave,  he  was  to  be  returned  to  the  state 
or  territory  from  which  he  had  escaped.  Any  one  who  might 
hinder  the  return  of  a  fugitive  slave  should  pay  a  fine  of 
$500. 

The  French  Revolution  and  the  Proclamation  of  Neutrality.  1789- 
1793.  —  The  revolution  in  France,  which  began  in  1789,  caused  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  for  the  United  States.  At  first  the  people 
of  the  United  States  had  a  strong  sympathy  for  the  revolution 
ists.  Aid  had  been  given  by  the  French  people  to  the  Americans 
in  the  War  for  Independence,  and  naturally  there  was  a  desire  to 
support  the  French  Revolution.  But  as  the  revolution  went  on,  the 
cruelty  shown  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  France  diminished 
the  sympathy  of  the  Americans.  So,  when  it  was  proposed  that 
the  United  States  should  become  an  ally  of  France  in  the  war 
against  England,  in  1793,  the  Federalists  strongly  opposed  it.  The 
Anti-federalists,  at  this  time  known  as  Democratic-Republicans, 
contended  that  the  treaty  of  1778  between  the  two  countries l  was 
still  in  force,  and  therefore  the  United  States  was  in  honor  bound 
to  aid  France  in  her  war  with  England. 

The  Federalists  urged  the  President  to  proclaim  the  neutrality 
of  the  United  States.  They  took  the  ground  that  the  treaty  had 
been  made  with  King  Louis  XVI,  and  therefore  was  annulled 
when  he  had  been  deposed  by  the  revolutionists.  Washington 
accepted  this  view  and  issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality  (April 
22,  1793).  The  citizens  were  warned  not  to  protect  any  one  who 
might  draw  punishment  on  himself  by  aiding  either  of  the  powers 
at  war. 

i  See  page  163. 


STARTING   THE   WHEELS   OF  GOVERNMENT          199 

The  proclamation  caused  great  excitement  throughout  the 
country.  Those  who  favored  the  cause  of  France  bitterly 
denounced  Washington,  and  it  was  asserted  that  he  had  no 
right  to  proclaim  neutrality.  It  was  even  said  that  he  was  an 
enemy  to  France. 

The  Genet  Affair.  1793.  —  Shortly  afterward  the  new  French 
Republic  sent  an  ambassador,  "  Citizen  "  Edmund  Charles  Genet, 
to  the  United  States.  It  was  a  very  unwise  choice ;  for  several 
months  Genet's  audacious  actions  caused  apnr»yance  and  embarrass 
ment  to  the  administration.  He  landed  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  and  at  once  began  to  enlist  men  .and  fit  out  ships  for 
the  French  service,  and  to  do  other  unlawful  acts.  When  he 
went  to  Philadelphia,  then  the  seat  of  the  government,  he  was 
requested  by  Secretary  Jefferson  to  stop  his  illegal  actions.  But 
he,  nevertheless,  persisted  in  violations  of  neutrality.  He  com 
missioned  privateers  to  capture  English  ships,  and  planned  hostile 
expeditions  against  Florida  and  New  Orleans,  then  held  by 
Spain. 

Many  of  the  Democratic-Republicans  encouraged  Genet,  and  he 
seemed  to  think  he  could  do  as  he  pleased.  At  last  Washington 
demanded  that  France  should  recall  him,  which  was  done.  The 
Congress  approved  of  Washington's  course,  and  passed  an  act  giv 
ing  greater  effect  to  the  neutrality  proclamation. 

Unpleasant  Relations  with  England.  —  It  was  not  long  before  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  United  States  began  to  be  seriously 
affected  by  the  European  war.  In  November,  1793,  England 
ordered  the  capture  of  all  vessels  carrying  supplies  to  France  or 
to  the  French  colonies  in  the  West  Indies,  as  she  had  a  perfect 
right  to  do.  The  order  bore  heavily  on  the  merchants  of  the 
United  States,  who  then  had  a  very  large  ocean  carrying  trade. 
In  a  number  of  instances  United  States  merchant  vessels  disre 
garded  the  neutral  position  of  this  country  and,  while  trying  to 
carry  grain  to  France,  were  seized  by  British  men  of  war.  But  the 
British  went  further  than  this;  they  deliberately  took  American 
seamen  from  our  ships  and  forced  them  to  serve  in  the  British  navy. 
This  outrage  called  forth  loud  cries  for  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Many  of  the  Federalists  joined  with  the  Democratic-Republicans; 


200 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


a  very  bitter  feeling  against  Great  Britain  prevailed,  and  war 
seemed  certain. 

England  in  turn  accused  the  United  States  of  not  assisting 
the  Tories  to  regain  possession  of  their  confiscated  estates,1  and 
of  failing  to  require  American  merchants  to  pay  the  debts  they 
had  owed  in  England  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1776. 
These  charges  in  the  main  were  true,  but  they  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  question  at  issue.  On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States 
complained  that  British  troops  had  continued  to  occupy  the 
military  posts  on  the  great  western  lakes,  and  that  the  Indians 
had  been  incited  to  make  raids  on  the  frontier  settlements. 

Jay's  Treaty.     1794.  —  Washington  desired  to  save  the  country 

from  war  by  all  honorable  means, 
and  he  therefore  sent  Chief  Justice 
John  Jay  to  England  to  negotiate  a 
treaty.  Jay  was  a  very  able  states 
man  and  he  was  received  in  England 
with  marked  respect.  England  re 
garded  the  United  States  as  a  weak 
country  and  would  make  almost  no 
concessions  in  the  negotiations.  The 
terms  offered  were  far  from  satis 
factory;  but  Jay  thought  it  would 
be  best  to  accept  the  treaty,  for  it 
would  at  least  secure  peace  and  cer 
tain  commercial  advantages.  The 
treaty  was  laid  before  the  Senate,  and 
ratified  after  a  long,  earnest  debate.  When  it  was  published,  it 
was  received  with  violent  opposition ;  the  newspapers  attacked 
Washington,  and  the  populace  hanged  and  burned  effigies  of  Jay. 
Washington  thought  it  would  be  unwise  to  reject  the  treaty,2  as  it 

1  During  the  Revolution  the  Tories  in  New  York  City  occupied  the  houses 
of  people  who  sympathized  with  the  war.    After  the  war  these  Tories  were 
persecuted  and  deprived  of  their  possessions. 

2  Washington  was  most  shamefully  ahused  for  taking  this  stand.     In  less  than 
a  year,  however,  the  treaty,  which  he  was  so  severely  condemned  for  signing, 
proved  to  be  such  a  decided  benefit  to  the  country  that  his  wisdom  in  signing  it 
was  apparent  to  all. 


STARTING    THE   WHEELS   OF  GOVERNMENT          201 

was  the  first  important  act  of  the  king  of  England  to  establish 
friendly  relations  with  the  United  States  since  the  Revolution. 

The  treaty  ignored  the  question  of  the  impressment  of  Ameri 
can  sailors  into  British  naval  service.  It  provided  that  — 

. 
The  western  military  posts  in  the  United  States  territory  should 

be  surrendered  to  the  United  States. 

Payment  should  be  made  for  the  seizure  of  American  ships. 
Commercial   regulations   between   the   two   countries   should   be 

arranged. 
Commerce  was  to  be  allowed  with  the  British  West  Indies  under 

certain  restrictions. 
The  United  States  was  to  set  aside  $3,000,000  to  pay  the  claims 

of  British  merchants. 

The  Whisky  Insurrection.  1794.  —  The  national  government 
had  occasion  to  prove  its  strength  when  the  farmers  of  western 
Pennsylvania  offered  the  first  armed  resistance  to  its  laws. 
These  farmers  were  dependent  for  their  prosperity  on  the  whisky 
which  they  manufactured,  and  when  a  tax  was  laid  on  whisky 
they  refused  to  pay  it  and  drove  away  the  tax  collectors. 
President  Washington  ordered  the  militia  to  the  scene  and  the 
Pennsylvanians  submitted. 

The  Spanish  Territorial  Claims  Adjusted.  1795.  —  After  long 
negotiations,  a  treaty  was  made  with  Spain  in  1795.  The  treaty 
fixed  the  boundaries  between  the  United  States  and  the  posses 
sions  of  Spain  in  the  region  of  the  present  states  of  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Florida ;  secured  to  the  United  States  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi;  and  gave  to  American  ships  the 
right  to  use  New  Orleans  as  a  place  of  deposit  of  merchandise. 

Washington  retires  from  Public  Service.  1797.  —  Six  months 
before  the  end  of  Washington's  second  term  as  President,  he 
announced  his  determination  to  retire  forever  from  the  public 
service.  The  Federalists  had  urged  him  to  accept  a  third  term, 
but  he  had  refused,  asserting  that  such  a  policy  would  establish  an 
unsafe  precedent ;  and  to  this  day  the  precedent  thus  established 
is  stronger  than  law.  Shortly  before  the  close  of  his  administra 
tion,  he  issued  a  farewell  address  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  containing  counsels  which  have  ever  since  been  revered. 


202  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

For  many  years  Washington  had  been  the  foremost  man  in 
America,  the  most  beloved,  and  the  most  influential.  He  had 
striven  to  establish  the  new  federal  government  on  broad  and 
enduring  lines.  During  the  eight  years  of  his  presidency,  differ 
ences  with  foreign  nations  had  been  settled,  the  public  credit  had 
been  restored  and  strengthened,  and  a  wonderful  impetus  had 
been  given  to  American  industries  and  commerce.  He  had  seen 
the  United  States  become  a  prosperous  nation  of  four  million 
people. 

Adams  elected  President.  1797.  —  There  had  been  no  contest 
over  Washington's  first  or  second  election.  Long  before  the  third 

election,  however,  both  of  the  politi- 
/? 

fl ///7/n?A      ca^   Part^es   cnose   candidates.     The 
^//  CLM77M      Federalists  favored  John  Adams1  of 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  or  ADAMS.       Massachusetts,  then  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent.     The  Democratic-Republicans  desired  Thomas  Jefferson  of 
Virginia.     There  was  an  active  campaign,  and  the  contest  resulted 
in  the  election  of  Adams.     Jefferson  became  Vice-President. 

Trouble  with  France.  1797-1799.  —  Soon  after  the  inauguration 
of  President  Adams,  there  was  further  trouble  with  France,  then 
governed  by  a  revolutionary  government  called  the  Directory. 
The  French  government  was  displeased  at  Jay's  treaty  with  Eng 
land,  and  in  retaliation  adopted  commercial  regulations  which 
were  hurtful  to  the  ocean  carrying  trade  of  the  United  States. 
In  certain  cases,  the  seizure  and  confiscation  of  American  ships 
were  authorized.  The  American  minister  was  ordered  to  quit 
France,  and  it  was  declared  that  the  French  Republic  did  not 
desire  further  relations  with  the  United  States. 

The  excitement  created  by  the  action  of  the  French  govern- 

i  JOHN  ADAMS  (1735-1826)  was  a  native  of  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  and  a  gradu 
ate  of  Harvard  College.  He  was  already  a  lawyer  of  note  when  he  was  appointed 
to  the  Continental  Congress  of  1774  and  1775.  In  1777  he- was  sent  as  commis 
sioner  to  France,  and  later  was  chosen  one  of  the  three  negotiators  of  the  treaty 
with  Great  Britain  (1782-1783).  For  three  years  he  was  minister  to  London. 
On  his  return  to  America  he  was  elected  Vice-President  (1789-1797),  and  in  1796, 
President.  At  the  close  of  his  administration  he  retired  to  his  farm  at  Quincy 
(1801).  While  his  impatient,  combative  disposition  won  him  many  enemies,  he 
was  held  in  high  trust  and  esteem  because  of  his  sincerity  and  generosity  of 
purpose. 


STARTING   THE   WHEELS  OF  GOVERNMENT          208 

ment  caused  President  Adams  to  call  the  Congress  in  special  ses 
sion,  in  order  that  it  might  arrange  effectual  measures  of  defense 
in  case  of  war.  A  special  mission  was  sent  to  France 

The  X  Y  Z 

to  make  peace,  but  the  government  would  not  receive  mjssjon  ' 
the  envoys.  They  wefe  met,  however,  by  the  secret 
agents  of  Talleyrand,  minister  of  foreign  affairs,1  who  informed 
them  that  before  they  could  begin  negotiations  for  a  treaty,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  give  $250,000  to  the  Directory  for  its 
private  use.  They  were  also  informed  that  the  loan  by  the 
United  States  to  France  of  at  least  $6,000,000  would  be  the 
first  condition  of  a  treaty.  The  envoys  positively  refused  to 
give  any  money  to  the  Directory.  They  treated  with  utter  con 
tempt  the  proposition  to  buy  a  treaty.  One  of  the  envoys, 
Charles  Pinckney,  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  Millions  for 
defense  ;  not  one  cent  for  tribute  !  "  The  commission  remained 
in  Paris  for  several  months,  but  accomplished  nothing. 

The  failure  of  the  mission  to  France  made  war  seem  inevitable. 
The  great  mass  of  the  American  people  had  the  war  spirit,  and 
fully  sustained  the  government  in  its  preparations  for  hostilities. 
The  Congress  ordered  the  formation  of  a  small  army,  and  Wash 
ington  wras  prevailed  upon  to  take  its  command.  A  Department 
of  the  Navy  was  created,  and  provision  was  made  for  a  naval 
force.  All  treaties  with  France  were  declared  void,  and  inter 
course  with  that  country  was  suspended.  Naval  hostilities  be 
tween  the  two  nations  were  actually  begun,  and  the  fighting  ships 
of  the  small  navy  made  such  a  good  showing  that  the  Directory 
at  once  changed  its  attitude. 

In  November,  1799,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  famous  soldier, 
brought  about  the  overthrow   of   the   Directory   and 
had  himself  made  the  chief   ruler  of   France,  under 
the  title  of  consul.     A  second   commission   sent   by   President 
Adams  then  obtained  a  satisfactory  treaty. 

The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  1798.  —  The  trouble  with  France 
was  the  occasion  for  the  enactment,  early  in  1798,  of  what 
were  called  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws.  Agents  of  the  French 

1  Talleyrand's  secret  agents  were  known  by  the  initials  X.,  Y.,  and  Z.,  and 
therefore  the  mission  of  the  American  envoys  came  to  be  called  the  X.Y.Z.  mission 


204  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Directory  were  everywhere  in  the  United  States  working  in  the 
interest  of  their  government.  They  continually  published  abusive 
articles  about  President  Adams  and  the  Congress,  and  sought  in 
many  ways  to  induce  the  people  to  oppose  the  lawful  authorities. 
The  Alien  and  Sedition  laws  were  passed  in  order  to  check  the 
influence  of  these  French  emissaries. 

The  Alien  Act  authorized  the  President,  at  any  time  during  the 
next  two  years,  to  order  out  of  the  country  any  alien  l  whose  pres 
ence  he  judged  to  be  dangerous  to  its  peace  and  safety,  or  any  one 
concerned  in  treasonable  actions  against  the  government.  An 
alien  who  should  refuse  to  obey  such  an  order  to  depart  might  be 
imprisoned  for  a  term  not  exceeding  three  years. 

The  Sedition  Act  provided  that  any  person  who  should  oppose 
a  law  of  the  land,  or  who  should  prevent  an  officer  of  the  govern 
ment  from  performing  his  duty,  should  be  punished  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  $5000  and  by  imprisonment.  The  law  provided  also 
that  any  person  who  should  publish  any  false  or  malicious 
writings  against  the  government,  or  either  house  of  the  Congress, 
or  the  President,  should  be  punished  by  fine  and  imprisonment. 

These  laws  were  very  generally  condemned.  To  give  the 
President  the  authority  to  send  aliens  out  of  the  country  without 
a  legal  trial  was  considered  dangerous.  The  Sedition  Act  also 
was  obnoxious,  inasmuch  as  it  interfered  with  the  constitutional 
right  of  a  citizen  to  express  his  feelings  freely  on  any  subject. 
Although  these  acts  were  intended  to  apply  to  mischievous 
French  agents,  they  applied  also  to  every  citizen  of  the  country. 
The  defeat  of  the  Federal  party  at  the  following  election  was 
due  very  largely  to  the  passage  of  these  acts. 

The  legislatures  of  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  in  1798,  passed 
resolutions  condemning  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws.  The 
Kentucky  resolution,  drawn  up  by  Jefferson,  de- 
tack^and  dared  that  the  Congress  had  no  right  to  pass  such 
Virginia  laws  and  that  the  state  governments  could  declare 
Resolutions  them  „  void  and  of  nQ  force>»  The  Virginia  Assembly 

was  equally  emphatic  in  its  disapproval. 

i  An  alien  is  a  person  residing  in  a  country  who  is  not  a  lawful  citizen 
of  it. 


STARTING   THE    WHEELS   OF  GOVERNMENT          205 


SUMMARY 

Washington  and  Adams  were  elected  President  and  Vice-President  in 
1789. 

Three  executive  departments  —  Foreign  Affairs  (afterward  State), 
War,  and  Treasury  —  were  established. 

A  Supreme  Court  and  various  other  federal  courts  were  created. 

The  first  tariff  act,  for  revenue,  was  passed  by  the  First  Congress;  a 
fugitive-slave  law  was  also  passed. 

Ten  amendments  to  the  Constitution  were  adopted  and  ratified  by 
the  necessary  number  of  states. 

A  Federal  bank  was  established  at  Philadelphia  to  handle  the  money 
of  the  government. 

Vermont,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio  were  admitted  to  the 
Union. 

Washington  and  Adams  were  reflected  (1792). 

The  first  political  parties,  Federalists  and  Anti-federalists  or  Demo 
cratic-Republicans,  were  organized  during  Washington's  first  term. 

Washington  proclaimed  the  neutrality  of  the  United  States  during  war 
between  France  and  England. 

The  first  friendly  treaty  with  Great  Britain  was  negotiated  by  John 
Jay,  in  1794.  The  treaty  met  with  violent  opposition  in  the  United 
States. 

War  with  France  was  averted  by  the  overthrow  of  the  Directory,  and  a 
commercial  treaty  was  made  with  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

The  Alien  and  Sedition  acts  were  passed  in  order  to  permit  the  Presi 
dent  to  expel  or  to  punish  French  agents  who  were  endeavoring  to  violate 
the  neutrality  of  the  United  States.  They  applied,  however,  to  all  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  and  were  very  obnoxious. 

COLLATERAL  READING 

Critical  Period  of  American  History  —  Fiske.     Chapters  V,  VII. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States  —  Amendments  I-X,  Appendix, 
pp.  20-21. 

History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States  —  McMaster.  Vol.  II,  pp.  138- 
142 ;  pp.  371-374 ;  pp.  393-400. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

TERRITORIAL    EXPANSION    AND    THE    WAR    FOR    COMMERCIAL 
INDEPENDENCE.    1800-1816 

The  Passing  of  the  Federalists;  the  Election  of  Jefferson.     1800. 

—  The  Democratic-Republicans  had  greatly  increased  their 
strength  since  the  passage  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws.  They 
were  quick  to  take  advantage  of  dissensions  which  arose  among 
the  Federalists  previous  to  the  election  of  1800.  President  Adams 
and  Charles  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina  were  at  the  head  of  the 

ticket  of  the  Federal  party; 
the  Democratic-Republicans 
nominated  Thomas  Jefferson 1 

and    Aaron    Burr     of    New 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  JEFFERSON.  -*T     ^        mi      -r.    i       T  ^ 

York.     The  Federalists  were 

defeated.  After  holding  the  control  of  the  national  govern 
ment  for  the  first  twelve  years  of  its  existence,  the  Federalists 
as  a  party  were  forced  to  retire,  and  they  never  again  gained 
control. 

The  electors  were  required  by  the  Constitution  to  cast  their 
votes  for  two  persons  without  indicating  in  any  way  which  was 
to  be  President  and  which  was  to  be  Vice-President.2  The  candi 
date  who  received  the  greatest  number  of  electoral  votes  was  to 

1  THOMAS  JEFFERSON  (1743-1826)  was  a  native  of  Albemarle  County,  Virginia. 
He  received  his  education  at  William  and  Mary  College.    He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress  of  1775-1776,  and  wrote  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence.    He  was   successively  governor  of  Virginia,  United   States  minister  to 
France,  secretary  of  state,  and  Vice-President ;  and  was  elected  and  reflected  as 
the  third  President  (1801-1809).    The  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  in  retire 
ment  at  Monticello,  his  Virginia  home.    He  has  heen  classed  with  Washington, 
Franklin,  and  Lincoln  as  one  of  the  four  American  statesmen  who  have  rendered 
greatest  service  to  their  country. 

2  See  page  190,  footnote. 


THE   UNITED  STATES  IN  1800 

1        I  Thirteen  Original  States 


OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 


TEEEITORIAL  EXPANSION  207 

be  President.  When  the  electoral  votes  were  counted,  it  was 
found  that  Jefferson  and  Burr  had  each  seventy-three ;  neither 
had  a  majority,  and,  in  consequence,  the  House  of  Eepresentatives 
was  compelled  to  exercise,  for  the  first  time,  its  constitutional 
right  to  elect  a  President.1  A  ballot  of  the  House  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Jefferson.  Aaron  Burr  became  Vice-President. 

The  inauguration  of  President  Jefferson  took  place  in  Wash 
ington.2  He  was  the  first  President  to  be  inaugurated  there.3 
As  soon  as  he  was  fairly  seated  in  the  executive  chair,  Jefferson 
began  to  make  changes  in  the  method  of  administering  the  gov 
ernment.  Formal  and  extravagant  practices  in  the  executive 


1  The  House  obtained  this  right  from  Article  II,  Section  1,  of  the  Constitution, 
which  then  read:  "If  no  person  have  a  majority  [of  the  electoral  votes],  then 
from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said  House  shall  .  .  .  choose  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representa 
tion  from  each  state  having  one  vote ;  .  .  .  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall 
be  necessary  to  a  choice."     By  the  twelfth  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  pro 
posed  by  the  Eighth  Congress  in  1803,  and  duly  ratified  by  the  state  legislatures, 
the  presidential  electors  are  now  required  to  vote  for  one  person  for  President  and 
another  for  Vice-President. 

2  The  city  of  Washington  had  been  laid  out  as  the  seat  of  the  national  govern 
ment  just  prior  to  1800. 

8  Jefferson's  inaugural  address  contained  what  have  always  since  been  called 
the  Jeffersonian  principles.  They  have  attained  wide  fame,  and  to  this  day  they 
have  been  constantly  studied.  They  are  as  follows  :  — 

"  Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever  state  or  persuasion,  religious 
or  political ;  peace,  commerce,  and  honest  friendship  with  all  nations,  entangling 
alliances  with  none ;  the  support  of  the  state  governments  in  all  their  rights  as 
the  most  competent  administrations  for  our  domestic  concerns,  and  the  surest 
bulwarks  against  anti-republican  tendencies ;  the  preservation  of  the  general 
government  in  its  whole  constitutional  vigor  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  peace  at 
home  and  safety  abroad;  a  zealous 'care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people; 
a  mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses,  which  are  lopped  by  the  sword  of  revolution 
where  peaceable  remedies  are  unprovided  ;  absolute  acquiescence  in  the  decision 
of  the  majority,  the  vital  principle  of  republics;  a  well-disciplined  militia,  our 
best  reliance  in  peace,  and  for  the  first  moments  of  war,  till  regulars  may  relieve 
them;  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority;  economy  in  the 
public  service,  that  labor  may  be  lightly  burdened ;  the  honest  payment  of  our 
debts  and  sacred  preservation  of  the  public  faith;  encouragement  of  agriculture, 
and  of  commerce  as  its  handmaid  ;  the  diffusion  of  information,  and  arraignment 
of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  public  reason ;  freedom  of  religion ;  freedom  of  the 
press ;  and  freedom  of  persons  under  the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus ;  and 
trials  by  juries  impartially  selected." 


208 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


departments  were  abolished,  and  simple  ways  were  substituted. 
So  far  as  possible,  the  expenses  of  the  government  were  reduced. 
The  Purchase  of  Louisiana.  1803.  —  The  chief  event  of  Jeffer 
son's  administration  was  the  purchase  of  the  province  of  Loui 
siana,  a  vast  region  extending  from  the  Mississippi  Kiver  to  the 
Kocky  Mountains  and  to  Mexico.  The  province  had  been  a  part 
of  the  French  possessions  in  North  America.  At  the  close  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  Spain  acquired  it  from  France,  but  in 
1800  secretly  transferred  it  back  to  her.1 


BRITISH         POSSESSIONS 

Jg^., 


New  Orleans 


THE  EXPANSION  RESULTING  FROM  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE. 

The  only  part  of  Louisiana  which  at  that  time  had  any  special 
interest  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  was  the  port  of  New 
Orleans,  some  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missis 
sippi.  This  port  was  used  as  a  place  for  the  deposit 
of  merchandise  by  American  ships  navigating  the  river,2  and  not 
until  the  privilege  of  using  the  port  was  suddenly  denied  to  the 
United  States  was  there  any  suspicion  that  the  province  had  been 

1  See  page  120. 

2  In  October,  1795,  Pinckney,  then  minister  to  Spain,  had  negotiated  a  treaty 
giving  to  American  ships  the  right  to  navigate  the  river,  and  also  the  privilege  to 
deposit  merchandise  at  New  Orleans. 


TEERITOEIAL  EXPANSION  209 

re-transferred  to  France.  This  interference  with  the  commerce  of 
the  West  led  to  a  united  demand  on  the  part  of  the  merchants 
and  settlers  in  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  valleys  that  the  national 
government  should  seize  New  Orleans. 

Jefferson  believed  there  would  be  a  great  deal  of  trouble  about 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  unless  the  United  States  should 
gain  possession  of  New  Orleans.  He  was  inclined  to  think  that 
the  port  and  the  region  around  it  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
might  be  purchased,  and  accordingly  he  directed  Robert  R.  Liv 
ingston,  our  minister  to  France,  to  negotiate  with  Napoleon,  then 
ruler  of  France,  for  its  purchase.  He  also  sent  James  Monroe  as 
special  envoy  to  join  in  the  negotiations. 

Napoleon  was  at  that  time  preparing  for  renewed  "war  with 
England.     The  great  Frenchman  needed  money,  and  offered  to 
sell  to  the  United  States  not  only  New  Orleans,  but 
the   whole    province    of    Louisiana.      He   demanded         ^ha 
$20,000,000  at  first,  but  finally  reduced  the  price  to 
$15,000,000.      The  offer  had  to  be  accepted  at  once.      England 
might  begin  war  any  day;  and  it  was  thought  that  her  first  hos 
tile  act  would  be  to  send  warships  to  seize  New  Orleans.     There 
was  no  time  to  refer  the  matter  to  President  Jefferson.     Napo 
leon's  offer  was  accepted,  and1  (April  30,  1803)  Louisiana  was 
ceded  to  the  United  States. 

Monroe  had  gone  beyond  his  instructions  in  purchasing  Loui 
siana,  but  President  Jefferson  fully  sanctioned  the  act.  Th^ 
treaty  confirming  the  sale  was  ratified  (October  9,  1803) ;  a  week 
later  the  Congress  appropriated  the  money  required.  That  the 
purchase  was  a  great  stretch  of  constitutional  power  was  evident ; 
but  it  was  a  clear  necessity.  There  was  no  clause  in  the  Consti 
tution  to  warrant  such  a  transaction.  By  many  citizens  it  was 
considered  a  dangerous  precedent,  but  it  was  thought  that  the 
purchase  was  necessary  to  the  national  welfare. 

Before  the  United  States  took  formal  possession  of  Louisiana, 
the  national  area  was  only  828,000  square  miles.     By 
the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  1,171,831  square  miles 
were  added.     The  ownership  of  the  United  States  was 
extended  over  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley.     Probably  no  other 


210 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


equal  area  on  the  face  of  the  earth  has  greater  natural  resources. 
Its  food-producing  power  alone  is  great  enough  to  sustain  a  popu 
lation  of  about  one  hundred  millions  of  people.  In. latitude  it 
extends  from  the  cold  temperate  almost  to  the  torrid  zone.  It  is 
a  level  stretch  of  well-watered  prairies ;  its  climate  permits  the 
growth  of  the  sugar  cane,  on  the  one  hand,  and  winter  wheat,  on 
the  other.  At  the  close  of  the  century  in  which  the  Louisiana 
purchase  was  made,  the  Mississippi  Valley  produced  — 

One  fourth  of  the  world's  wheat  crop, 
Four  fifths  of  the  world's  maize  crop, 
Three  fourths  of  the  world's  cotton  crop, 
Three  fourths  of  the  world's  output  of  iron  ore, 
One  third  of  the  world's  output  of  coal. 

The  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition.     1804-1806.  —  Soon  after  the 

acquisition  of  Louisiana,  Jef 
ferson  arranged  for  an  over 
land  expedition  to  explore 
the  western  part  of  the  terri 
tory,  and  also  the,  region  of 
the  Columbia  River.  This 
river  had  been  explored 
(1792)  by  Captain  Robert 
Gray  of  Boston,  who  had 
sailed  up  it  in  'his  ship 
Columbia.  He  had  renamed 
the  river  after  his  ship.1 

Jefferson  put  the  expedi 
tion  in  charge  of  Captain 
Meriwether  Lewis  and  Lieu 
tenant  William  Clark.  They 
ascended  the  Missouri  River 

From  a  portrait  that  belonged  to  William  Clark.  fa  j|g  source>  making  a gCHCral 

exploration    of   the   country 


reached  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia.     Down  this  river  they 
1  Previously  the  river  had  been  known  as  the  Oregon. 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION 


211 


went  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  obtaining  a  large  amount  of  infor 
mation  of  the  region.  The  work  of  their  expedition  on  the 
Columbia  River  afterward  formed  a  strong  basis  to  the  claim  of 
the  United  States  to  Oregon. 

Pike's  Explorations.  1806. — While  the  explorations  of  Lewis 
and  Clark  were  under  way,  Captain  Zebulon  Pike  carried  on  a 
similar  work  along  the  eastern  border  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.1 
He  made  a  rough  survey  of  the  basin  of  the  Arkansas  River  and 


WESTERN  EXPLORATIONS,  1804-1806. 

then  started  southwest  for  the  Red  River.  Pike  reached,  not 
Red  River,  but  the  Rio  Grande.  Being  then  on  Spanish  terri 
tory,  he  and  his  party  were  captured  and  taken  to  Santa  Fe.  They 
were  shortly  afterward  set  free,  however,  and  made  their  way 
back  across  Texas. 

The  Oregon  Country.  —  Learning  the  facts  of  Lewis  and  Clark's 
explorations,  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  fur  trader  of  New  York,  or- 


1  He  found   the  lofty  peak  near  Denver  which  was  afterward  named  Pikes 
Peak  m  his  honor. 


212  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

ganized  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  and  began  the  establishment 
of  a  train  of  trading  posts  along  the  line  of  the  Missouri  to  the 
Columbia  River,  and  thence  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  One  of  the 
posts  established  was  Astoria,  now  a  thriving  town  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia.  By  Gray's  discovery,  Lewis  and  Clark's  ex 
plorations,  and  the  occupation  of  Astoria,  the  title  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Oregon  country l  was  practically  completed. 

War  with  Tripoli.  1803-1805.  —  For  many  years  the  states  of 
Tripoli,  Tunis,  Algeria,  and  Morocco  in  North  Africa  had  sent  out 
pirate  ships,  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  merchant  vessels  sailing 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Atlantic.  In  order  to  protect  Ameri 
can  commerce,  it  had  been  the  custom  of  the  national  government 
occasionally  to  pay  tribute  to  the  rulers  of  these  states. 

Jefferson  determined  to  adopt  another  policy.  So  (1803) 
when  Tripoli  demanded  a  large  tribute,  Jefferson  sent,  instead  of 
money,  a  force  of  warships  to  the  Mediterranean.  The  squad 
ron,  under  Commodore  Preble,  bombarded  the  city  of  Tripoli,  and 
brought  its  ruler  to  terms.  In  1805  a  treaty  of  peace  was  agreed 
to  by  Tripoli,  and  thereafter  American  ships  were  not  molested 
by  that  country. 

Jefferson's  Second  Term.  1804^1808.  —  Jefferson's  first  term  had 
proved  so  satisfactory  to  the  people  that  he  was  again  made  a 
candidate.  The  Federalists  nominated  Pinckney.  Jefferson 
was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  George  Clinton  of  New  York 
was  chosen  Yice-President. 

Importation  of  Slaves  Prohibited.  —  Upon  the  recommendation 
of  President  Jefferson,  the  Congress  (1806)  passed  an  act  pro 
hibiting,  after  January  1,  1808,  the  importation  of  colored  per 
sons  intended  to  be  sold  as  slaves.  The  importation  of  slaves 
was  made  a  high  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  and  imprison 
ment.  The  act  was  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution,2  which 
practically  gave  to  the  Congress  the  power  to  prohibit  the  impor 
tation  of  slaves  when  the  year  1807  had  expired. 

The  Cumberland  Road.  —  In  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 

1  The  region  between  the  Pacific  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  the  parallel 
of  42°  to  54°  40'  was  called  the  Oregon  country.     See  map,  page  267. 

2  See  the  Constitution,  Article  I,  Section  9. 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION 


213 


rapidly  increasing  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  valleys, 
the  Congress  passed  an  act,  in  1806,  for  the  building  of  a  national 
road  from  Cumberland,  Maryland,  to  the  Ohio  Kiver  at  Wheel 
ing.  The  highway  was  constructed  and  was  called  the  Cumberland 
road.  Ultimately,  it  was  extended  across  Illinois  (1838),  making 
the  total  cost  nearly  $7,000,000.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a 
series  of  internal  improvements  by  the  general  government.  The 
strict  constructionists  held  that  the  government  had  no  right 
under  the  Constitution  to  make  internal  improvements,  and  for 
several  years  political  parties  were  divided  on  the  question. 

Burr's  Trial  for  Treason.  1807.  —  After  Aaron  Burr  had  served 
his  term  as  Vice-President,  in  1805,  public  opinion  forced  him  to 
leave  the  East.  For  words  spoken  in  political  disputes,  Burr  had 


THE  ROUTE  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND  ROAD. 
Showing  its  later  extension  across  Illinois. 

challenged  Alexander  Hamilton  to  a  duel  and  killed  him  (July, 
1804).  He  had  thus  lost  the  respect  and  the  support  of  his  politi 
cal  associates.  He  went  to  the  southwestern  territory  and  con 
trived  to  gain  the  favor  of  many  people  there.  He  also  organized 
a  military  expedition,  which  was  probably  intended  to  carry  out 
a  scheme  for  an  independent  government  in  Louisiana  or  in 
Mexico. 

By  order  of  President  Jefferson,  the  expedition  was  stopped  at 
Natchez,  and  Burr  was  arrested  for  treason  against  the  United 
States.  He  was  taken  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  to  be  tried.  At 
the  trial,  in  August,  1807,  no  proof  was  presented  that  would  suf 
fice  to  convict  him  of  an  overt  act  of  treason,  and  therefore  he 
was  acquitted.  He  then  gave  bail  to  appear  for  trial  in  Ohio  on 
a  charge  of  high  misdemeanor.  When  the  case  was  called,  Burr 


214  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

did  not  appear,  having  fled  to  Europe,  where  he  remained  for 
years.  The  case  was  never  brought  up  again. 

The  "Gunboat  Navy."  1807.  — After  the  close  of  the  War  of 
the  Revolution,  our  commerce  grew  to  vast  proportions,  even 
in  spite  of  the  troubles  with  France  and  England.  But  the 
entire  seaboard  was  at  the  mercy  of  a  hostile  fleet  should  war 
be  declared,  since  we  had  neither  adequate  navy  nor  coast  de 
fenses.  In  order  to  remedy  this,  Jefferson's  plan  for  a  navy  of 
gunboats  was  adopted  by  the  Congress.  It  was  not  a  popular 
measure.  The  Federalists  had  demanded  that  the  navy  should 
be  made  stronger  and  that  the  principal  seaports  of  the  country 
should  be  fortified.  The  demand  had  been  opposed  by  the  Re 
publicans,  who  had  a  large  majority  in  the  Congress,  on  the 
ground  that  the  cost  would  be  too  great. 

In  a  message  to  the  Congress,  President  Jefferson  suggested 
that  instead  of  building  expensive  warships  and  fortifications,  it 
would  be  cheaper  to  provide  small  gunboats  and  heavy  cannon 
mounted  on  carriages.  The  gunboats,  he  believed,  could  easily 
guard  the  coast  waters,  and  the  heavy  cannon  could  be  conveyed 
to  any  place  where  they  might  be  wanted  to  resist  attack. 

As  a  cheap  defense  this  system  was  favored  by  the  Congress. 
Two  hundred  and  fifty  gunboats  and  a  large  number  of  movable 
cannon  were  ordered.  But  it  was  soon  apparent  that  such  a 
scheme  could  never  be  a  worthy  substitute  for  a  navy.  It  was  so 
unsatisfactory  that  before  half  of  the  gunboats  were  finished  the 
plan  was  abandoned.  The  shadow  of  coming  events,  moreover, 
made  it  plain  that  there  was  no  substitute  for  good  warships, 
trained  sailors,  and  strong  fortifications.  Neither  Great  Britain 
nor  France  respected  any  right  but  that  of  might. 

Interference  with  American  Commerce.  —  In  1806  France  and 
Great  Britain  were  engaged  in  a  sort  of  retaliation  which  seemed 
very  much  like  an  international  game  of  battledore  and  shuttle 
cock.  The  unpleasant  feature  about  it  was,  that  while  the  two 
European  powers  played  at  battledore,  the  vessels  carrying  Ameri 
can  merchandise  were  the  shuttlecocks.  Great  Britain  proclaimed 
a  blockade  of  the  French  coast,  and  six  months  later  Napoleon 
issued  a  decree  from  Berlin  for  a  blockade  of  the  English  coast. 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  215 

In  1807,  by  the  Orders  in  Council,  Great  Britain  prohibited 
neutral  ships  from  entering  any  ports  of  Europe,  except  those 
of  Russia.  Napoleon  then  issued  a  decree  from  Milan  forbidding 
neutral  ships  to  trade  with  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies. 

Both  nations  enforced  their  orders  so  far  as  they  were  able ; 
and  in  consequence  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  was 
severely  injured.  Voyages  continued  to  be  made  to  European 
ports,  but  at  great  risk.  Nearly  a  thousand  American  ships 
were  captured  by  British  and  French  cruisers  and  confiscated, 
—  ships,  sailors,  cargoes,  and  all.  It  was  declared  in  excuse  for 
the  capture  of  sailors  that  only  British  subjects  were  taken,1 
but  this  was  untrue.  The  Americans  were  neutral,  but  Ameri 
can  commerce  continued  to  suffer  from  violations  of  neutrality.2 

British  warships  were  stationed  off  the  ports  of  New  York  and 
at  the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  all  vessels,  incoming  or  out 
going,  were  stopped  and  searched.  In  the  course  of  the  year 
more  than  one  hundred  merchantmen  were  seized  and  confiscated, 
and  nearly  one  thousand  seamen  were  impressed  into  the  British 
navy.  Many  of  these  were  American-born  citizens.  In  the  mean 
time  public  indignation  reached  a  white  heat.  In  the  summer 
of  1807,  an  incident  brought  matters  to  a  climax. 

1  Great  Britain  then  held  the  doctrine,  which  is  still  held  by  some  European 
powers,  that  a  person  who  was  once  a  British  subject  always  remained  a  British 
subject,  even  though  he  became  a  citizen  of  another  country.     It  was  therefore 
claimed  that  the  naval  authorities  had  the  right  to  impress  a  British  sailor  wher 
ever  he  might  be  found  on  the  high  seas. 

2  In  part,  the  trouble  was  due  to  American  shipmasters  themselves.     Accord 
ing  to  the  rules  of  neutrality  which  Great  Britain  had  established,  although  an 
American  vessel  might  clear  from  the  United  States  for  any  European  port,  or 
for  the  West  Indies,  it  was  forbidden  that  a  vessel  should  clear  from  France  to 
a  West  India  port,  or  from  Spain  to  a  Spanish  West  India  port,  and  vice  versa. 
In  order  to  evade  this  rule,  an  American  vessel  would  sail  from  the  Spanish  West 
Indies  to  a  port  of  the  United  States,  enter  the  port  and  pay  duty  on  the  cargo, 
and  then  clear  for  a  port  of  Spain.    On  receiving  his  clearance  papers,  the  ship 
master  would  receive  also  the  duty  he  had  paid,  less  three  per  cent. 

For  a  long  time  it  was  the  custom  to  break  the  voyage  in  this  way,  and  the 
British  government  ignored  the  practice.  In  1805,  however,  the  English  courts 
decided  that  the  "broken  voyage,"  as  it  was  called,  was  a  breach  of  neutrality, 
and  that  ships  on  such  a  voyage  were  liable  to  capture.  The  decision  was  prob 
ably  lawful,  but  the  manner  in  which  the  British  naval  authorities  carried  it 
out  was  not  only  exasperating  but  outrageous. 


216  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Attack  on  the  Chesapeake.  1807. — While  off  the  Virginia 
coast  the  Chesapeake,  a  thirty-eight-gun  American  frigate,  was 
hailed  by  the  Leopard,  a  fifty -gun  British  frigate.  Officers  from 
the  Leopard  went  aboard  the  Chesapeake  and  demanded  the  right 
to  search  her  for  certain  sailors  claimed  to  be  English  deserters. 
The  commander  of  the  Chesapeake  refused  to  allow  the  search, 
and  the  British  officers  departed.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Leopard 
opened  fire  on  the  Chesapeake,  killing  three  men  and  wounding 
others.  The  American  ship,  not  having  her  guns  mounted,  was 
not  prepared  for  battle,  and  was  compelled  to  strike  her  flag. 
Four  men  were  then  taken  from  her  to  the  British  frigate.  An 
investigation  afterward  showed  that  three  of  these  men  were 
American-born  citizens. 

Instead  of  considering  the  outrage  an  act  of  war  and  at  once 
suspending  relations  with  Great  Britain,  President  Jefferson  issued 
a  proclamation  forbidding  British  warships  to  enter  American 
ports.  The  British  made  no  reparation  for  this  attack  until 
several  years  afterward.1  Moreover,  British  men-of-war  came  into 
American  ports  whenever  they  pleased,  in  spite  of  the  President's 
proclamation. 

The  Embargo  Act.  1807.  —  President  Jefferson  called  the  Con 
gress  together  in  special  session  (October,  1807)  to  take  action 
upon  the  violations  by  England  and  France  of  the  rights  of  the 
United  States  as  a  neutral  nation.  He  recommended  that  an 
embargo  act  be  passed,  by  which  exportation  from  the  United 
States  should  be  prohibited.  He  believed  that  England  and 
France  needed  American  food-stuffs  and  other  productions,  and 
if  they  could  not  get  them,  they  would  be  compelled  to  make 
favorable  terms  with  us. 

After  weeks  of  debate,  the  Congress  passed  the  Embargo  Act 
(December,  1807).  It  was  stoutly  opposed  by  the  Federalists  and 
by  a  few  of  the  Democratic-Republicans,  but  received  a  vote  of 
about  two  to  one.  The  act  forbade  the  departure  of  any  American 
vessels  to  a  foreign  country.  Foreign  vessels  leaving  the  ports  of 

1  In  1811  Great  Britain  agreed  to  make  reparation  in  money  to  the  United 
States  for  the  damage  done,  as  well  as  payments  to  the  families  of  the  men  who 
were  killed  or  wounded  in  the  affair. 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  217 

the  United  States  must  go  without  cargo.  Vessels  engaged  in  the 
coasting  trade  had  to  give  heavy  bonds  as  assurance  that  their 
cargoes  would  be  landed  in  the  United  States. 

The  Non- intercourse  Act.  1809.  —  The  embargo  certainly  hurt 
Great  Britain  and  France,  but  it  hurt  the  United  States  more. 
It  practically  annihilated  the  great  shipping  interests  of  New 
England,  and  hurt  the  farmers  by  depriving  them  of  foreign  mar 
kets  for  their  products.  For  a  few  months  it  was  endured  as 
patiently  as  possible,  but  as  no  good  result  seemed  to  come  from 
it,  a  strong  demand  was  made  for  its  repeal  or  modification.  The 
Congress  at  last  consented  to  modify  it,  and  passed  the  Non- 
intercourse  Act.  By  this  act  commerce  was  allowed  with  all 
nations  except  England  and  France. 

Madison   elected   President.      1808.  —  Most  of   the  Democratic- 
Republicans,  as  well  as  many 
members    of     the     Congress, 
wanted  Jefferson  to  accept  a 

third  term  as  President :  but, 

THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  MADISON. 
like  Washington,  he  declined. 

The  Federalists  again  nominated  Charles  Pinckney  in  1808,  and 
again  lost  the  election.  James  Madison1  of  Virginia  was  chosen 
President  and  George  Clinton  Vice-President. 

Napoleon's  Dishonesty.  1810.  —  For  some  time  Madison  was 
disposed  to  follow  the  peace  policy  of  Jefferson  and  to  avoid  hos 
tilities  with  Great  Britain  and  France,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
both  countries  were  continuing  their  attacks  on  American  com 
merce.  Finally,  Napoleon  offered  to  stop  the  seizure  of  our  ships 
and  to  resume  commercial  relations  with  the  United  States.  The 
Non-intercourse  Act  was  repealed,  so  far  as  it  affected  France. 

As  soon  as  peaceful  relations  had  been  assured,  many  American 
merchantmen  that  were  idle,  loaded  with  provisions  and  sailed 

1  JAMES  MADISOX  (1751-1836)  was  born  at  Port  Conway,  Virginia.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Princeton  College.  He  came  into  prominence  in  1774  as  a  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  for  his  county.  From  that  time  until  his  elec 
tion  to  the  presidency  he  served  in  public  office,  notably  as  delegate  to  the  Con 
stitutional  Convention  of  1787,  as  member  of  the  Congress,  and  as  secretary  of 
state.  He  served  two  terms  as  President.  He  was  thoughtful  and  quiet,  an  ex 
cellent  student  and  politician. 


218  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

for  French  ports.  No  sooner  had  they  entered  French  harbors 
than  they  were  seized  and  confiscated.  The  loss  to  the  shippers 
was  many  million  dollars.  Napoleon's  promise  had  been  a  trick  ; 
he  had  not  revoked  his  orders,  and  he  had  not  intended  to  do  so. 
The  French  troops  were  much  in  need  of  food-stuffs  and  supplies, 
and  Napoleon  took  this  means  to  obtain  them. 

Indian  Troubles.  1811.  —  On  the  western  frontier  the  Indians 
were  actively  trying  to  keep  settlers  out  of  Indiana  Territory. 
William  Henry  Harrison,  governor  of  the  territory,  gathered  a 
force  of  regulars  and  volunteers  from  the  settlements  and  attacked 
the  Indian  stronghold  on  Tippecanoe  Kiver.  His  decisive  victory 
made  Harrison  the  hero  of  the  West.  The  defeated  chief,  Tecum- 
seh,  at  once  joined  the  British  in  Canada,  and  the  Americans 
became  confirmed  in  their  belief  that  the  Indian  attacks  had  been 
incited  by  agents  of  Great  Britain. 

Clay  and  Calhoun  advise  War.  —  The  search  of  American  ships 
and  the  impressment  of  seamen  went  on  as  usual,  and  the  British 
authorities  ceased  even  to  acknowledge  the  protests  of  the  United 
States.  These  indignities  finally  caused  two  strong  leaders, 
Henry  Clay1  and  John  C.  Calhoun,2  to  advocate  armed  resistance. 
The  Democratic-Republicans  had  a  large  majority  in  the  Congress, 
and  a  strong  war  spirit  prevailed  among  them.  The  Federalists 
firmly  opposed  the  demand  for  war ;  but  they  could  not  prevent 
its  declaration.  President  Madison  became  convinced  that  the 

1  HENRY  CLAY  (1777-1852)  was  a  native  of  Hanover  County,  Virginia.    Before 
he  was  twenty  he  began  to  practice  law.     He  removed  to  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
and  by  that  state  he  was  repeatedly  sent  to  the  House  of  Representatives  and  to 
the  Senate.    In  1824  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  but  failed  of  election. 
During  Adams's  administration  he  served  as  secretary  of  state.    He  was  of  a 
peace-loving  spirit,  devoted  to  the  Union  above  all  personal  and  party  considera 
tions.    A  power  by  means  of  his  eloquence  and  force  of  will,  he  was  a  natural 
political  leader. 

2  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  (1782-1850)  was  born  in  Abbeville  District,  South  Carolina. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College.     For  a  period  of  nearly  forty  years  he  served 
in  the  Congress  and  in  the  cabinet.     Monroe  made  him  his  secretary  of  war,  and 
President  Tyler  appointed  him  secretary  of  state.    In  1825,  and  again  in  1828, 
he  was  elected  Vice-President.    He  was  in  favor  of  free  trade,  and  a  defender 
of  the  institution  of  slavery.     Webster,  who  was  opposed  to  him  in  politics, 
testified   to   the  charms    of   Calhoun's   personality    and    the   nobility    of   his 
character. 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION 


219 


people  desired  him  to  support  the  war  policy  of  the  Congress,  and 
his  conclusion  to  do  so  was  strengthened  by  the  Henry  affair. 

The  Henry  Affair.  1812.  —  What  at  first  seemed  to  be  a  plot 
against  the  United  States,  came  to  light  early  in  1812.  There 
had  been  a  considerable  gossip  that  the  Eastern  states,  then  the 
chief  stronghold  of  the  Federalists,  were  planning  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union  on  account  of  the  Embargo  Act  and  other  meas 
ures  of  the  Federal  government.  One  John  Henry,  who  said  he 
had  talked  with  the  leading  Federalists  in  Boston,  reported  their 
dissatisfaction  to  the  governor- 
general  of  Canada.  To  these 
Boston  men,  however,  he  had 
declared  that  he  was  authorized 
to  offer  the  assistance  of  the 
British  government  in  any 
movement  looking  toward  seces 
sion,  and  to  propose  a  union 
with  Canada. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Henry 
discovered  no  real  desire  for 
secession  from  the  Union  among 
the  Federalists,  although  some 
of  their  leaders  had  threatened 
it.  New  England  was,  how 
ever,  deeply  discontented  on 
account  of  the  disastrous  com 
mercial  measures.  Dissatisfied  JoHN  c  CALHOUN. 
with  his  treatment  in  Canada 

and  London,  in  a  fit  of  anger  Henry  sold  all  the  correspondence 
in  the  matter  to  the  United  States  government  for  $50,000. 
President  Madison  sent  the  papers  to  the  Congress  with  the 
assumption  that  Henry's  evidence  proved  that  Great  Britain 
had  been  intriguing  to  break  up  the  American  Union.  It  has 
since  been  discovered  that  the  papers  were  false. 

The  Declaration  of  War.  1812.  —  The  President  sent  a  confiden 
tial  message  to  the  Congress,  June  1,  1812,  recommending  that 
war  be  declared.  In  his  message  he  said  that  the  chief  causes  for 


220  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

complaint  against  Great  Britain  were  "  the  impressment  of  our 
seamen,  her  infringement  upon  our  maritime  jurisdiction,  and  dis 
turbance  of  the  peace  of  our  coasts,  her  paper  blockades, 1  unsup 
ported  by  any  adequate  force,  and  her  violations  of  our  neutral 
rights."  The  committee  of  each  house  of  the  Congress  made  a 
report  favoring  the  declaration  of  war,  and  President  Madison 
promptly  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  that  a  state  of  war 
existed. 

The  Surrender  of  Detroit;  the  Invasion  of  Ohio.  1812.  —  The 
second  war  with  England  —  known  as  the  War  of  1812  because  it 
was  declared  in  that  year  —  was  a  war  for  commercial  independ 
ence.  The  United  States  had  only  a  small  army  and  a  navy  quite 
insignificant  compared  with  that  of  the  British,  but  as  the  war 
went  on,  the  army  arid  the  navy  were  greatly  strengthened. 

The  first  aggressive  movement  of  the  war  was  an  invasion  of 
Canada,  which  was  wretchedly  managed,  and  failed.  An  army 
of  about  twelve  hundred,  under  the  command  of  General  Hull,  a 
Kevolutionary  soldier,  then  governor  of  Michigan  Territory,  crossed 
over  to  Canada  from  Detroit,  but  returned  in  about  a  month  with 
out  making  an  effort  to  engage  the  enemy  in  battle.  In  August 
following,  seven  hundred  British  soldiers  and  six  hundred  Indians 
appeared  at  Detroit  to  give  battle  to  Hull's  force,  but,  to  the  sur 
prise  of  everybody,  Hull  surrendered  Detroit  and  all  of  Michigan 
Territory  without  a  blow.2 

Early  in  January,  1813,  General  Winchester  attempted  to  drive 
the  British  out  of  Frenchtown,  a  small  village  on  Raisin  River, 
not  far  from  Detroit.  Winchester  made  a  good  fight ;  neverthe 
less,  his  force  was  defeated  and  captured.  There  being  no  longer 
an  army  of  defense,  the  British  troops  then  invaded  Ohio,  where 

1 A  paper  blockade  is  one  not  supported  by  a  show  of  force.  It  is  one  of  the 
principles  of  international  law  that  if  any  enemy  does  not  effectually  close  the 
ports  along  the  coast  declared  to  be  blockaded,  the  assumed  blockade  may  be 
disregarded  by  neutral ^essels. 

2  It  is  said  that  General  Hull  did  not  believe  he  could  depend  on  his  troops  to 
fight  the  British  successfully,  and  he  therefore  surrendered  to  save  useless  blood 
shed.  He  was  subsequently  tried  by  court-martial  for  cowardice  and  sentenced  to 
be  shot ;  but  in  consideration  of  his  gallant  services  in  the  Revolution,  he  was  par 
doned  by  the  President.  His  name  was  stricken  from  the  army  roll. 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION 


221 


they  had  their  own  way  until  General  William  Henry  Harrison, 
who  had  made  a  forced  march  from  Cincinnati,  defeated  them  at 
Fort  Meigs.  About  the  same  time  Major  Croghan  repelled  a 
British  attack  at  Fort  Stephenson.  These  two  battles  checked 
the  British  invasion. 

The  Farcical  Attack  upon  Queenston.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  General  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  was  ordered  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  New  York  militia  and  to  proceed  to  the  Canadian 
frontier.  The  "  militia  "  consisted  of  less  than  one  thousand  men, 
without  arms,  uniforms,  or  organization,  encamped  at  Niagara. 


SCENE  OF  OPERATIONS  IN  THE  WAR  OF  1812. 

Van  Rensselaer  provided  arms  and  uniforms  at  his  own  expense ; 
the  organization  he  endeavored  to  get  by  drill  and  discipline.  It 
was  the  intention  that  his  force  should  capture  Queenston,  join 
General  Hull,  and  proceed  to  Montreal.  The  first  attempt  to 
cross  the  river  to  reach  Queenston  failed,  and  in  subsequent 
attacks  the  American  troops  proved  themselves  too  cowardly 
to  fight.  Van  Rensselaer  was  badly  wounded,  and  threw  up  his 
command  in  disgust. 

First  Naval  Operations.  —  The  humiliating  failures  on  land  were 
offset,  in  a  measure,  by  most  creditable  fighting  at  sea.  Just  after 
the  declaration  of  war,  on  August  13,  1812,  the  British  sloop 
Alert  was  overhauled  by  the  frigate  Essex,  in  command  of  Captain 


222 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Porter,  and  surrendered  after  an  engagement  of  only  eight 
minutes.  Six  days  later,  the  American  frigate  Constitution, — 
subsequently  nicknamed  Old  Ironsides,  —  commanded  by  Captain 
Isaac  Hull,  encountered  the  British  frigate  Guerriere  in  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence.  The  Constitution  made  her  opponent  a  com 
plete  wreck  in  about  half  an  hour.  Very  little  damage  was  done 
to  the  Constitution. 


From  the  painting  by  White. 

THE  CONSTITUTION  DESTROYING  THE  GUERRIERE. 

On  October  15  the  British  sloop  Frolic  was  defeated  by  the 
American  sloop  Wasp,  off  the  North  Carolina  coast.  On  the 
25th  of  October  the  frigate  United  States,  commanded  by  Captain 
Decatur,  engaged  the  British  frigate  Macedonia,  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  island  of  Madeira.  After  a  fight  of  a  little  more  than  an  hour 
the  Macedonia  surrendered.  To  finish  the  year  1812,  the  Consti 
tution,  commanded  by  Captain  Bainbridge,  while  off  the  Brazilian 
coast,  met  the  British  frigate  Java.  During  a  fight  of  two  hours 
the  Java  lost  two  hundred  and  thirty  men,  and  was  shot  to  pieces. 

These  gallant  naval  exploits,  and  also  the  capture  of  hundreds 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  228 

of  English  merchantmen  by  American  privateers,  caused  un 
bounded  enthusiasm  in  the  United  States. 

Madison  Reelected.  1812.  —The  election  of  1812  took  the  form 
of  an  expression  of  approval  of  the  war.  The  peace  faction  of 
the  Democratic-Republicans  chose  De  Witt  Clinton  of  New  York 
as  its  candidate.  Madison  was  reflected,  with  Elbridge  Gerry  of 
Massachusetts  as  Vice-President. 

Operations  of  1813;  Perry's  Victory  on  Lake  Erie.  —  Another 
invasion  of  Canada  was  put  into  operation  by  General  William 
Henry  Harrison,  commander  of  the  army  of  the  West.  It  was  first 
necessary  to  control  Lake  Erie,  on  the  waters  of  which  floated  a 

L  /Ms  fa^rf  Qn^/fct.'  fsTvWf  Ce^rQwuvy 

y 


PERRY'S  FAMOUS  MESSAGE  TO  GENERAL  HARRISON. 

British  fleet  of  six  warships,  carrying  sixty-three  guns.  To  de 
stroy  this  fleet  and  open  the  lake  was  the  task  of  Captain  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry,  a  young  naval  officer  scarcely  out  of  his  teens. 

In  a  few  weeks  Captain  Perry  had  gathered,  or  built  out  of  grow 
ing  timber  at  Presqu'  Isle,  a  fleet  of  nine  vessels,  with  fifty-four 
guns.  He  then  sailed  for  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Erie  to 
give  battle  to  the  enemy.  The  two  met  on  September  10,  1813, 
and  Perry's  flagship,  the  Lawrence,  began  the  battle  by  opening 
fire  on  the  British  line.  The  Lawrence,  after  furious  fighting,  at 
last  became  disabled,  and  Perry  transferred  his  flag  to  his  second 
largest  ship,  the  Niagara.  Flag  in  hand,  he  jumped  into  a  small 
boat  and  was  rowed  through  a  raking  fire  to  the  Niagara.  Hoist- 


224 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


ing  his  flag,  he  immediately  sailed  down  the  British  line,  firing 
broadsides  as  he  went  along.  The  American  ships  inflicted  so 
much  damage  that  the  British  commander  struck  his  colors  and 
surrendered.  Perry  then  sent  to  General  Harrison  the  famous 
message,  "We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours  :  two 
ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  one  sloop." 

The  Battle  of  the  Thames  and  Other  Land  Operations.     1813.— 
After  Perry's  mastery  of  Lake  Erie,  General  Harrison  crossed  to 


From  the  painting  by  Chappel. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  RIVER  THAMES,  1813. 

Canada,  where  he  defeated  the  British  at  the  Thames  River,  on 
October  12.  This  battle  restored  to  the  Americans  possession  of 
Detroit  and  the  northwestern  country.  American  troops  also 
made  a  successful  attack  on  York,  Canada,  but  followed  it  by  the 
disgraceful  act  of  burning  the  town. 

Land  Operations  on  the  Frontier.  1814.  —  Two  years  of  fighting 
had  given  officers  and  men  the  discipline  that  enabled  them 
to  carry  on  the  war  more  intelligently.  Winfield  Scott  won  an 
important  fight  at  Chippewa  (July  o)  on  the  Canadian  frontier, 
and  held  his  ground  in  a  battle  at  Lundys  Lane  (July  25) ;  these 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  225 

engagements  enabled  him  to  capture  Fort  Erie.  But  the  British 
returned  in  greater  force,  and  drove  him  away  from  Fort  Erie 
long  enough  to  take  the  opportunity  to  sack  and  burn  Buffalo. 
As  an  act  of  vandalism  this  about  offset  the  burning  of  York. 
A  combined  land  and  water  victory  over  the  British  at  Plattsburg, 
on  Lake  Champlain,  put  an  end  to  the  British  plans  for  an 
invasion  of  New  York  by  way  of  the  lake.  This  naval  battle  on 
Lake  Champlain,  in  which  Lieutenant  McDonough  completely 
routed  the  British  ships,  was  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  inci 
dents  of  the  war. 

The  Blockade.  —  In  the  meantime  the  British  had  attempted  to 
blockade  the  United  States,  and  war  vessels  were  stationed  before 
the  harbors  of  the  entire  coast.  This  measure  was  the  result  of 
the  naval  defeats.  The  British  had  considered  their  navy  invin 
cible,  and  the  fact  that  some  of  their  best  ships  had  been  easily 
riddled  and  sunk  by  American  gunners  was  a  disagreeable  surprise. 
The  British  ministry  was  compelled  to  take  a  course  of  some  kind 
or  other  to  satisfy  the  popular  demand,  and  the  coast  blockade 
was  the  plan  followed.  Sorties  were  made  along  the  coast,  and 
several  coast  towns  were  bombarded. 

The  Sacking  of  Washington.  1814. — During  the  summer  of 
1814,  a  British  fleet  and  a  land  force  entered  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
landed  near  Havre  de  Grace,  Maryland,  and  marched  to  Washing 
ton.  A  feeble  resistance  was  made  at  Bladensburg,  but  the  British 
burned  the  Capitol,  White  House,  and  other  public  buildings, 
destroying  in  all  about  $ 2,000,000  worth  of  property. 

The  Hartford  Convention.  1814.  —  The  Federalists  had  opposed 
the  war  from  the  first,  and  as  it  progressed  their  opposition 
steadily  increased.  They  were  stronger  in  New  England  than 
elsewhere.  A  number  of  their  leaders,  representing  five  states, 
assembled  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  discussed  the  public 
grievances  arising  from  the  war.  They  were  in  secret  session  for 
three  weeks.  At  that  time  many  of  the  people  believed  that  the 
real  object  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  as  it  was  called,  was  to 
take  the  New  England  states  out  of  the  Union. 

As  the  situation  is  now  understood,  those  who  took  part  in  the 
convention  did  not  wish  to  secede,  but  they  strongly  disagreed 


226  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

with  the  policy  of  the  government  and  the  conduct  of  the  war. 
The  convention  adopted  resolutions  demanding  a  redress  of  the 
grievances  of  New  England,  but  the  resolutions  were  not  approved 
by  a  single  state. 

Battle  of  New  Orleans.  1815.  —  In  December,  1814,  a  British 
force  of  twelve  thousand  men,  under  General  Pakenham,  landed 
below  New  Orleans  and  began  a  movement  toward  that  city. 
The  American  troops  at  that  point  were  under  the  command  of 
General  Andrew  Jackson.  With  less  than  six  thousand  men, 
Jackson  advanced  to  meet  the  British.  He  made  a  vigorous 
attack  on  the  enemy,  but  was  forced  to  fall  back.  He  then  took 
up  a  strong  position  behind  a  canal,  four  miles  from  New  Orleans, 
constructed  some  intrenchments  of  sand  bags  and  cotton  bales, 
and  awaited  the  coming  of  the  enemy. 

Pakenham  soon  made  an  assault  on  Jackson's  lines  (January, 
1815).  The  British  charged  twice  on  the  intrenchments,  but 
they  were  mowed  down  by  the  American  artillery  and  by  the 
bullets  of  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  sharpshooters.  Paken 
ham  and  many  of  his  leading  officers  were  killed.  In  less  than 
half  an  hour  the  battle  was  finished,  the  British  retreating  with 
the  loss  of  twenty-six  hundred  killed  and  wounded. 

The  Treaty  of  Ghent.  1814.  —  By  the  summer  of  1814,  both  the 
United  States  and  England  were  tired  of  the  war,  and  saw  no 
advantage  in  prolonging  it.  Each  nation  appointed  commis 
sioners  i  to  arrange  a  treaty  of  peace.  The  commissioners  met  at 
Ghent,  in  Belgium,  and  agreed  on  the  treaty,  which  is  known  as 
the  treaty  of  Ghent.  The  document  signed  by  the  commissioners 
in  December2  did  not  reach  the  United  States  until  the  following 
February,  because  of  the  slow  means  of  communication.  The 
treaty  was  ratified  by  the  Senate. 

It  provided  for  the  immediate  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  for 
the  restoration  of  all  property  taken  by  either  party  during  the 
war.  It  arranged  for  commissioners  to  determine  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  the  British  possessions.  There 

1  John  Quincy  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay,  Jonathan  Russel,  and 
Albert  Gallatin  were  the  commissioners  for  the  United  States. 

2  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  signed  before  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  was  fought. 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  227 

were  other  provisions  also,  but  the  impressment  of  American 
seamen  was  not  mentioned  in  the  treaty ;  never  after  this  time, 
however,  did  England  claim  the  right  of  impressment. 

What  the  War  Accomplished.  —  The  war  settled  none  of  the 
questions  for  which  it  was  declared.  Its  chief  result  was  to 
establish  the  United  States  as  a  nation  to  be  respected.  It 
created  a  stronger  national  feeling  among  the  people  than  was 
ever  known  before.  It  thoroughly  tested  the  strength  of  the  Fed 
eral  union  and  the  authority  of  the  Federal  government.  Unaided, 
the  nation  fought  the  greatest  power  in  Europe,  resisted  her  vet 
eran  soldiers,  and  destroyed  her  naval  supremacy.  Thereafter 
the  Americans  were  confident  of  their  ability  to  defend  them 
selves  on  land  or  sea  from  foreign  aggressions.  England  never 
afterward  tried  to  impress  American  seamen,  or  to  deny  to  the 
United  States  her  rights  on  the  high  seas. 

The  Algerine  Pirates.  —  During  the  war  closed  by  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  the  Dey  *  of  Algiers  had  carried  on  a  piratical  warfare 
against  American  merchantmen  cruising  in  the  Mediterranean. 
The  Algerine  pirates  had  taken  many  of  our  ships,  and  made 
slaves  of  the  crews.  Directly  after  the  war,  Commodore  Decatur 
was  sent  to  the  Mediterranean  with  a  fleet  of  nine  vessels  to 
teach  the  Algerines  to  respect  the  American  name.  Decatur  en 
countered  an  Algerine  frigate  of  forty-six  guns  near  Gibraltar  and 
captured  it  with  four  hundred  prisoners  (June  17,  1815).  An 
other  frigate  was  captured  two  days  later.  Then  Decatur  sailed 
into  the  Bay  of  Algiers  and  forced  the  Dey  to  release  the  American 
sailors,  and  to  give  compensation  for  the  attacks  on  our  commerce. 
Afterward  Decatur  went  to  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  and  made  the  sov 
ereign  of  each  country  pay  roundly  for  their  depredations  on 
American  ships. 

New   Political   Divisions. — The  state  of   Georgia   was  at  first 
reluctant  to  give  up  her  claims  to  lands  west  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains,  but  in  1802  she  ceded  them  to  the  national    Mississippi 
domain,  and  they  were  added  to  Mississippi  Territory,    territory; 
which  had  been  established  in  1798.     Two  years  later    Louisiana 
(1804)  the  southern  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  made  into 
1  This  was  the  title  then  given  to  the  governor  of  Algiers. 


228 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


a  separate  political  division  and  organized  as  Orleans  Territory ; 
in  1812  it  was  admitted  as  the  state  of  Louisiana,  the  eighteenth 
to  join  the  Union. 


1790 


1800 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NORTH 
WEST  TERRITORY,  1790-1810. 

Several  changes  were  also 
made  in  the  Northwest  Ter 
ritory.  The  lower  peninsula, 
nowapartofMichi-  Michigan 
gan,  was  then  a  part  and  Illinois 
of  Indiana.  It  was  territ<>ries 
separated  from  the  latter  and 
made  a  territory  in  1805.  In 
1809  Illinois  was  set  off  from 
Indiana  Territory  and  made  a 
separate  territory.  A  consid 
erable  tide  of  emigration  had 
been  turned  into  this  region 

and  the  food-producing  power  of  the  land  was  recognized. 

Financial  Conditions  in  Madison's  Administration. — The  Congress 

had  refused  in  1811  to  renew  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the 


181O 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  229 

United  States,  which   was   established  in  1791   for  a  period  of 
twenty  years.     Consequently  a  great  number  of  state  banks,  more 
than  two  hundred  in  all,  came  into  existence.     These 
banks  differed  from  the  private  banks  of  later  years  in 
having  charters  or  permits  from  the  respective  states  in  which 
they  were  established.     They  were  unlike  the  national  banks  of 
the  present  day,  inasmuch  as  they  had  no  permit  from  the  Federal 
government,  and  they  gave  no  security  for  the  notes  which  they 
issued. 

In  a  way  these  state  banks  were  a  great  convenience  and  a 
necessity.  The  mint  could  not  provide  nearly  enough  coin  for 
the  business  of  the  country  ;  no  one  who  lived  in  Philadelphia 
could  deposit  money  in  the  mint  or  draw  from  it.  For  the  con 
venience  of  their  customers,  the  state  banks  issued  bills  of  vari 
ous  denominations,  much  like  the  "  greenbacks  "  in  use  to-day. 
These  bills,  however,  were  not  money  in  the  real  sense ;  they 
were  promises  to  pay  the  holders  of  them  coin  to  the  amount 
designated  on  the  face  of  the  bill.  As  a  substitute  for  coin  the 
bills  were  very  serviceable,  and  so  the  banks,  although  loosely 
conducted,  were  welcomed  by  business  men. 

During  the  War  of  1812,  however,  there  was  trouble  over  their 
way  of  doing  business.  When  the  British  sacked  Washington, 
the  banks  in  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  packed  up  suspension 
all  the  coin  they  possessed,  and  sent  it  away  where  of  specie 
the  British  would  not  be  likely  to  get  it.  This  pro-  Payment 
ceeding  made  the  banks  elsewhere  short  of  coin.  In  a  few  months 
all  the  banks  except  those  in  New  England  were  compelled  to 
refuse  payment  on  the  paper  bills  they  had  issued.  This  sus 
pension  of  specie  payment,  as  it  was  called,  brought  with  it  a 
very  serious  shortage  of  money;  in  consequence,  cities,  business 
firms,  and  traders  issued  printed  tickets  to  take  the  place  of  small 
coins.  Another  serious  result  was  the  loss  of  confidence  in  the 
banks ;  in  only  a  few  cases  would  the  people  take  the  bank  bills 
at  face  value.  A  dollar  bill  issued  by  a  Philadelphia  bank,  for 
instance,  was  not  likely  to  be  worth  much  more  than  ninety  cents 
outside  the  city,  and  much  less  than  that  sum  in  a  distant  place 
like  Boston  or  New  Orleans. 


230  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  depressed  financial  condition  of  the  country  alarmed  the 
business  men  generally,  and  inasmuch  as  there  was  but  little 
The  second  confidence  in  the  state  banks,  the  matter  of  a  United 
United  States  bank  was  again  brought  into  public  discussion. 

States  Bank  jn  ^g^g  ^Q  second  government  bank  was  chartered 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years.  The  main  institution  was  located  at 
Philadelphia ;  branches  were  established  in  Washington  and  sev 
eral  Eastern  cities.  The  capital  was  $35,000,000. 


SUMMARY 

The  election  of  Jefferson,  a  Democratic-Republican,  in  1800,  marked 
the  decline  of  the  Federalist  party. 

Louisiana  was  purchased  from  France,  in  1803,  for  $15,000,000.  The 
Mississippi  was  thus  opened  to  navigation,  and  the  United  States  gained 
the  whole  Mississippi  Valley. 

By  the  exploration  of  the  Columbia  River  by  Captain  Gray  (1792), 
the  explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clark  (1805),  and  the  founding  of  a  fur- 
trading  post  by  John  Jacob  Astor  (1811),  the  claim  of  the  United  States 
to  the  Oregon  country  was  practically  completed. 

During  Jefferson's  first  term  war  was  waged  against  Tripoli  in  order 
to  punish  the  pirates. 

During  Jefferson's  second  term  the  importation  of  slaves  was  forbidden ; 
a  national  highway,  the  Cumberland  road,  was  constructed ;  Aaron  Burr 
was  tried  for  treason  and  acquitted ;  a  plan  for  constructing  a  "  gunboat 
navy  "  was  partly  carried  out  and  then  abandoned. 

Hostile  relations  between  Great  Britain  and  France  seriously  injured 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and  American  vessels  trading  with 
either  country  were  subject  to  capture  by  the  other. 

The  Embargo  Act  forbade  the  export  of  all  commodities  from  the 
United  States.  This  being  unsatisfactory,  the  Non-intercourse  Act  was 
passed,  forbidding  trade  with  Great  Britain  and  France. 

During  Madison's  first  term  British  cruisers  confiscated  cargoes  and 
impressed  seamen  of  American  vessels. 

This  practice  led  to  a  declaration  of  war  against  England  in  1812. 

In  the  land  operations  near  the  Canadian  border  the  Americans  were 
generally  unsuccessful. 

The  navy  captured  several  British  men  of  war  and  hundreds  of 
merchantmen. 


TEEEITOEIAL  EXPANSION  231 

During  Madison's  second  term,  Captain  Perry  defeated  the  British 
naval  force  on  Lake  Erie  ;  General  Harrison  invaded  Canada ;  Washing 
ton  was  sacked  by  the  British ;  and  Jackson  defeated  an  invading  army 
at  New  Orleans. 

A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Ghent,  in  1814. 

Commodore  Decatur  attacked  the  pirates  of  the  Algerine  coast  in 
1815,  and  put  an  end  to  their  depredations  on  American  commerce. 

A  system  of  state  banks  was  established.  Their  method  of  issuing 
bills  proved  to  be  very  weak  and  during  the'  war  they  were  obliged  to 
suspend  specie  payment. 

COLLATERAL  READING 

History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States  —  McMaster.  Vol.  Ill,  Chap 
ters  XIV,  XVIII,  XIX. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Schouler.     Vol.  II. 
History  of  the  United  States  —  Scribner's.     Vols.  II-IX. 


CHAPTER   XV 

A  PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL   GROWTH.     1789-1840 

Emigration  to  the  West.  — During  the  first  twenty-five  years  of 
national  existence  there  was  an  industrial  development  of  the 
country,  the  like  of  which  was  probably  never  before  witnessed, 
and  the  character  of  the  land  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains 
was  the  main  cause  of  it.  East  of  the  mountains  the  best  land 
for  agricultural  purposes  was  not  to  be  compared  with  that  of 
the  plains  west  of  the  mountains.  In  the  New  England  and 
Middle  states  the  soil  of  the  uplands  was  a  gravelly  drift  that  had 
but  little  value ;  only  in  the  stream  valleys  was  the  land  fit  for 
food  crops.  In  the  Southern  states,  also,  it  was  poor.  As  a  result, 
after  the  close  of  the  Eevolution,  there  was  a  steady  stream  of 
emigration  through  the  Mohawk  Valley  and  by  the  Cumberland 
Pass  to  the  level  prairies  of  the  Great  Central  Plain.  At  first, 
the  industrial  development  had  its  greatest  impetus  in  the  South, 
owing  to  two  things  —  the  utilization  of  the  cotton  plant  and  the 
invention  of  the  steam  engine. 

The  Perfection  of  the  Steam  Engine.  1765.  —  Just  about  the  time 
of  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  James  Watt,  an  English  mechanic, 
was  experimenting  with  the  steam  engine,  and  he  succeeded  in 
improving  the  machine  to  such  an  extent  that  its  usefulness 
seemed  unlimited.  English  manufacturers  soon  discovered  that 
in  the  steam  engine  they  possessed  a  power  greater  than  they  had 
ever  dreamed  could  exist.  The  English  makers  of  textile  goods  at 
that  time  practically  controlled  the  industry.  In  a  few  years  this 
industry  began  to  include  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.1  But 

1  The  cotton  industry  had  been  confined  mostly  to  the  plains  of  Hindustan, 
where  it  probably  had  originated.  The  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny  (1707) 
and  the  power  loom  (1785)  enabled  European  manufacturers  to  take  the  business 
from  the  Hindoo  cloth  makers. 

232 


A   PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL    GROWTH 


233 


as  India  and  China  were  then  practically  the  only  cotton-growing 
countries,  the  English  manufacturers  had  to  go  to  the  far  East 
for  their  raw  cotton.  Carrying  the  cotton  fiber  from  India  to 
England  was  expensive ;  fetching  it  from  China  was  out  of  the 
question. 

Cotton  Cultivation  transferred  to  America.  —  Shortly  after  their 
independence  was  established,  the  Americans  began  to  grow  cotton, 
and  they  discovered  that  the  soil  and  the  climate  of  the  Southern 
states  were  unequaled  elsewhere  for  the  cultivation  of  cotton. 
From  the  northern  boundary  of  Tennessee  to  the  Gulf,  cotton 
was  a  good-paying  crop.  The  profits  per  acre  almost  equaled 
those  of  tobacco-farm  ing  during  colonial  times  ;  inasmuch  as  there 
were  comparatively  few  localities 
where  cotton  would  not  grow,  the 
aggregate  value  was  many  times 
that  of  the  tobacco  crop.  As  a 
result,  the  area  of  cotton  cultiva 
tion  grew  enormously  until,  in 
less  than  fifty  years,  it  became  the 
staple  of  the  South,  and  the  most 
valuable  export  product  of  the 
United  States.  "  Cotton  was 
King." 

Eli  Whitney  invents  the  Cotton 
Gin.  1794.  —  For  about  ten  years 
after  the  beginning  of  cotton  culti 
vation,  the  profits  were  small,  on 
account  of  the  great  difficulty  and 
expense,  in  separating  the  fiber  from  the  seed.1  About  1794  Eli 
Whitney,  a  young  man  from  a  Massachusetts  family  that  had  long 
been  famous,  set  to  work  to  overcome  the  expensive  process  of 

JThe  fiber  of  commerce  is  the  natural  lint  that  adheres  to  the  seed.  In  the 
sea-island  cotton,  the  long  fibers  do  not  stick  very  closely  to  the  seed,  and  the 
two  are  easily  separated.  With  the  ordinary  upland  cotton,  however,  the  case  is 
different.  The  short  fibers  adhere  so  strongly  to  the  seed  that  the  East  Indian 
process  of  hand  picking  made  the  fiber  expensive,  even  though  the  wages  of  the 
laborer  were  only  two  cents  a  day.  The  most  expert  workman  could  not  seed 
*nore  than  two  or  three  pounds  of  fiber  per  day. 


234  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

seeding  by  hand.  Whitney1  devised  a  cotton  engine,  or  gin, 
as  it  came  to  be  called,  which  would  do  the  work  of  about  one 
hundred  men.2 

Before  the  invention  of  the  gin,  the  cotton  crop  of  the  United 
States  had  not  reached  a  total  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds 
in  any  year;  in  the  year  following,  it  jumped  to  about  six  million 
pounds.  The  crop  steadily  increased  until,  at  the  present  time, 
it  amounts  to  more  than  three  fourths  of  the  world's  crop  —  about 
ten  million  bales  of  four  hundred  pounds  each. 

Cotton-growing  and  its  Effects  on  Slavery.  —  Although  negro 
slaves  were  to  be  found  in  practically  all  the  colonies  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolutionary  War,  most  of  them  were  in  the  South,  where 
only  unskilled  labor  was  required  ;  the  few  in  the  North  were 
employed  mainly  as  house  servants.  It  became  evident  that 
negro  labor  was  best  adapted  to  agriculture  conducted  on  a  large 
scale,  and  that  it  was  not  profitable  in  the  Northern  and  Middle 
colonies  where  agricultural  pursuits  were  chiefly  in  the  hands  of 
small  farmers.  In  the  manufacturing  sections  it  was  impossible 
to  use  slave  labor  by  the  side  of  skilled  free  labor.  Under  these 
conditions  slavery  had  been  abolished,  by  1804,  in  all  states  north 
of  Maryland. 

The  introduction  of  cotton  growing  in  the  states  began  very 
quickly  to  change  the  conditions  then  existing.  In  the  South 
white  laborers  could  not  well  withstand  the  fierce  heat  and  exces 
sive  moisture  characteristic  of  the  region;  the  African  was 
adapted  by  nature  to  such  conditions.  With  the  increase  of  the 
cotton-growing  area,  the  demand  for  negro  slaves  likewise  con 
stantly  increased.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  money  value 
of  the  good  field  hand  advanced  from  about  $200  to  more  than 
$1000.  The  immediate  result  was  the  gradual  clearance  of  slaves 

1  Unscrupulous  inventors  appropriated  some  of  Whitney's  ideas,  and  both  the 
courts  and  the  patent  laws  were  too  inefficient  to  give  him  the  protection  he 
merited.    He  consequently  lost  much  of  the  profits  that  should  have  come  to  him. 

2  The  machine  consisted  of  a  chamber  into  which  the  cotton  was  fed,  and  a 
number  of  saws  fixed  on  a  single  shaft.     The  teeth  of  the  saws  projected  into  the 
chamber  through  slits  that  were  so  narrow  that  the  seeds  could  not  pass  through 
them.    The  revolving  saws  pulled  the  lint  from  the  seed  and  then  delivered  it  to 
revolving  brushes,  which,  in  turn,  discharged  it  thoroughly  clean. 


A   PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL    GROWTH  235 

from  the  Northern  states.  From  the  upper  section  of  the  Southern 
states  many  slaves  were  transferred  to  the  cotton  area,  and  thus 
slave  labor  became  concentrated  in  the  cotton-growing  states  of 
the  far  South. 

The  Establishment  of  Manufactures.  — During  the  colonial  period 
there  had  been  but  little  development  in  the  way  of  manufactures. 
The  colonists  had  discovered  that  the  manufacture  of     colonial 
clapboards  and  barrel  staves,  which  were  worth  from      manufac- 
$20  to  $100  per  thousand,  was  profitable.     The  same     tures 
was  true  of  building  lumber  generally.     A  considerable  amount 
of  structural  iron,  such  as  bars  and  nail  rods,  was  also  made,  but 
the  material  was  exported  to  England.      About  the  only  thing 
manufactured  that  was  distinctively  an  American  product  was 
the  American  ship,  and  this  was  the  best  in  the  world. 

A  reason  for  this  condition  has  already  been  noted ;  the  mother 
country  would  not  permit  in  her  colonies  the  manufacture  of  any 
thing  that  could  be  made  in  England.1  Even  after  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  there  was  no  great  development  of  manufactures,  and 
practically  all  the  fine  textiles,  clothing,  tools,  paper,  machinery, 
and  domestic  wares  were  imported  from  Europe. 

The  Embargo  and  Non-intercourse  acts  (1807,  1809)  put  a  stop 
to  the  importation  of  such  wares.  The  people,  therefore,  were 
compelled  either  to  make  these  things  themselves  or  The  impetus 
to  go  without  them.  They  chose  to  make  them  ;  and  to  manufac- 
immediately  clubs  and  societies  for  the  encourage-  turin£ 
ment  of  manufacturing  enterprises  were  formed  in  nearly  every 
state.  Prizes  were  given  for  the  production  of  textiles,  and 
bounties  were  freely  offered  to  companies  which  should  under 
take  the  building  of  manufacturing  plants.  In  many  cases  such 
companies  were  to  be  exempt  from  taxation  for  a  number  of 
years.  Legislatures  passed  resolutions  requesting  their  members 
to  wear  garments  of  homemade  cloth,  and  in  some  instances 
people  who  insisted  on  wearing  "  European  tawdry,"  as  it  was 
called,  were  promptly  "put  out  of  society"  by  their  more  demo 
cratic  neighbors.  Shops  for  the  sale  of  domestic-made  wares 
were  established  in  almost  every  city  and  town. 

1  See  page  100. 


236 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Manufac 
tures  in 
the  North 

abroad. 


With  this  very  general  encouragement1  it  is  not  surprising  that 
a  multitude  of  manufactures  came  into  existence.  At  that  time, 
however,  the  steam  engine  was  but  little  used  in  the 
United  States,  and,  on  account  of  the  suspension  of 
foreign  commerce,  such  engines  could  not  be  purchased 
Falling  water,  therefore,  was  about  the  only  available 
power ;  the  water  power  existed  only  where  there  were  abrupt 
slopes  —  chiefly  on  the  New  England  plateau  and  the  slopes  of 

the  Appalachian  ranges. 
Most  of  the  manufactur 
ing  establishments  were 
built  in  localities  where 
the  falls  and  rapids  of 
streams  could  best  be 
utilized.2  After  a  few 
years  it  was  found  that 
these  establishments  sur 
vived  chiefly  in  the  New 
England  plateau  and  in 
some  of  the  larger  cities, 
such  as  Philadelphia, 
where  there  was  available 
water  power.  This  was 
mainly  for  the  reason 
that  the  money  formerly 
invested  in  commerce  in 
New  England  and  the 
Middle  states  became  available  for  manufacturing.  Moreover,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  people  who  went  to  New  England  were 
skilled  artisans,  cloth  makers,  machinists,  and  metal  workers, 
while  those  who  went  to  the  Southern  colonies  were  either 
wealthy  landowners  or  unskilled  laborers. 

1  In  1816  and  in  later  years  the  Congress  established  tariffs  for  the  encourage 
ment  of  manufactures.     See  page  252. 

2  About  this  time  the  value  of  the  "  Fall  Line,"  the  line  at  which  the  foothills 
and  the  coast  plain  meet,  was  recognized.      Many  of  the  great  manufacturing 
centers,   such  as  Lowell  and  Lawrence,  in  Massachusetts,  and  Cohoes,  in  New 
York,  were  also  located  on  rivers  having  available  water  power. 


THE  REGIONS  OF  COTTON  AND  OF  MANU 
FACTURES. 


A   PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL   GROWTH  237 

One  Effect  of  the  New  Adjustment  of  Industries.  —  The  creation  of 
a  line  between  Northern  and  Southern  peoples  was  one  very 
marked  effect  of  the  general  readjustment  of  the  industries  of  the 
country.  The  boundary  between  them  was  the  line  that  separated 
the  region  of  the  waterfalls  from  the  cotton  fields.  There  came 
to  be  a  distinct  North  and  an  equally  distinct  South.  The  widen 
ing  of  the  gap  between  the  two  sections,  in  the  future,  was  to 
bring  about  most  lamentable  results. 

The  Tide  of  Emigration.  — Between  1789  and  1814  the  population 
of  the  United  States  had  increased  from  a  little  more  than  three 
millions  to  more  than  seven  and  one  half  millions ;  the  thirteen 
states  had  become  eighteen  in  number ;  the  national  area  had  grown 
from  less  than  one  million  to  more  than  two  millions  of  square 
miles. 

Nevertheless,  in  about  four  fifths  of  this  immense  territory 
there  was  scarcely  a  white  man.  But  when  these  fertile  lands 
were  thrown  open 
to  settlement  and 
sold  at  one  dollar 
per  acre,  a  tide  of 
emigration  from 
the  East  swept 

westward   to    oc-        rT/HT¥s<¥"==:i!SSS!!riT^^^ 

cupy  them.     An        MLffXZI3a£^SlJS»i 

added   attraction 

lay  in  the   pros- 

EMIGRANTS  ON  THE  ROAD. 
pect  of  producing 

food-stuffs  which  were  sure  to  bring  good  prices  if  they  could  be 
gotten  to  the  Eastern  markets.  One  good  crop  would  sometimes 
pay  for  the  land. 

As  a  result,  three  great  streams  of  emigration  started  about 
1815.  From  New  England  and  New  York,  the  old  Indian 
trails  along  the  Mohawk  and  thence  westward  were 
followed.  From  Buffalo,  the  emigrants  diverged 
through  northern  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  and  Illi 
nois.  The  emigrants  from  the  Middle  states  usually  followed 
the  Susquehanna  Kiver  and  thence  across  the  Alleghany  Kange 


238  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

to  Pittsburg.  From  that  point  down  the  Ohio  Eiver  and  up 
its  various  branches,  the  way  was  comparatively  easy.  A  third 
route  lay  from  the  Southern  states  westward  into  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  fifteen  years  not  far  from  one  million 
people  traversed  one  or  another  of  these  routes.  The  northern 
route,  in  time,  became  one  of  the  world's  great  traffic  ways  —  that 
of  the  New  York  Central  Kailroad.  The  middle  route  also  became 
a  commercial  highway  of  tremendous  importance,  and  is  practi 
cally  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  The  routes  from  the 
Southern  states  were  not  so  well-defined,  but  one  of  them  became 
the  line  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad.  The  selection  of 
these  routes,  even  at  that  time,  by  the  emigrants  traveling  in 
wagons,  demonstrated  that  commerce  must  move  along  lines 
having  the  fewest  obstacles  —  practically  over  the  grades  most 
easily  surmounted. 

Democracy  in  America.  —  A  spirit  of  democracy  among  the 
people  was  not  general  before  the  \Yar  of  the  Revolution.  The 
right  to  have  a  share  in  the  government  —  to  vote  or  hold  office  — 
depended  in  some  colonies  on  ownership  of  land,  in  others  on 
religious  belief.  But  after  the  war  the  restrictions  rapidly  fell 
away.  It  became  apparent  to  all  well-meaning  people  that  in  a 
true  republic  the  people  themselves  are  the  rulers ;  and  that  all 
good  citizens  must  meet  on  the  same  plane  in  the  management 
of  it. 

An  Epidemic  of  Socialism.  —  Since  the  republic  was  based  on 
the  theory  that  all  citizens  are  equal,  there  soon  grew  up  societies 
aiming  at  community  of  interest.  One  of  these  was  organized  by  a 
Welshman,  Robert  Owen.  Owen  was  full  of  the  idea  that  most 
of  the  troubles  of  life  arise  from  the  fact  that,  while  a  few  people 
accumulate  very  great  wealth,  the  majority  are  compelled  to  toil 
in  wretched  poverty.  In  order  to  overcome  this,  Owen  argued 
that  people  should  form  communities  in  which  all  property  should 
be  held  in  common,  and  the  profits  of  labor  be  evenly  divided. 
Moreover,  he  held  that  absolute  equality  should  exist  among 
members  of  the  community.  Owen's  ideas  became  very  popular, 
and  Owenite  communities  were  founded  in  many  places,  especially 


A  PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL   GROWTH  239 

in  the  Western  states.1  They  very  soon  failed.  Thrifty,  ener 
getic  men,  who  are  always  the  real  factors  in  the  success  of  a 
community ,  did  not  care  to  go  into  an  enterprise  that  compelled 
them  to  divide  their  earnings  with  those  who  were  less  capable. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  who  went  into  such  societies  were  apt 
to  be  either  shiftless  or  incompetent  —  or  both. 

The  Mormons.  —  About  1830,  another  sect,  partly  religious  and 
partly  social,  came  into  public  notice.  One  Joseph  Smith,  living 
in  Palmyra,  New  York,  claimed  to  have  received,  by  divine  revela 
tion,  a  new  Scripture.  It  was  alleged  to  be  written  on  plates  of 
gold,  which  could  be  read  only  through  miraculous  agency.  The 
society  which  Smith  formed,  called  the  Mormon  Church,  was  well 
organized  and  successful  from  a  business  standpoint.  The  Mor 
mons  moved  from  New  York  to  Ohio,  next  to  Missouri,  and  then  to 
Illinois.  There  they  got  into  trouble  with  the  people,  and  were 
forcibly  driven  out  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  they  had  settled. 
In  Utah  they  founded  (1847)  one  of  the  most  successful  business 
societies  in  the  world,  which  also  became  a  center  of  political  dis 
turbance.  More  than  once  the  national  government  has  had  to 
take  measures  to  prohibit  and  suppress  their  practice  of  polygamy. 
The  entire  life  of  the  Mormon  people,  social,  religious,  industrial, 
educational,  and  political,  was  controlled  by  a  powerful  priesthood. 

The  Question  of  Transportation  ;  Steam  Navigation.  —  The  grow 
ing  business  of  the  country,  together  with  the  progress  of  settle 
ment  in  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys,  brought  the  people 
face  to  face  with  a  question  that  was  difficult  to  adjust,  namely, 
the  matter  of  transportation.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  no  railway  built  for  public  purposes  was  in  existence ; 
steam  had  not  been  successfully  applied  to  inland  navigation;  it 
had  not  been  applied  to  ocean  carrying  at  all. 

There  had,  however,  been  some  unsuccessful  attempts  to  use 
steam  power  on  inland  waters.  As  early  as  1785,  James  Kumsey 
of  Maryland  built  a  small  steam-propelled  boat  for  use  on  the 

1  The  most  noted  of  the  Owenite  communities  was  established  at  New  Harmony, 
Indiana,  in  1825.  The  high  ideals  of  Robert  Owen  attracted  a  group  of  brilliant 
men  and  women  from  various  parts  of  Europe  and  America,  and  for  a  time  New 
Harmony  was  a  noted  literary,  educational,  and  scientific  center. 


240 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Potomac.  Three  years  later  John  Fitch  built  a  steam  packet 
that  made  regular  trips  for  about  two  years  on  the  Delaware  River. 
Both  enterprises  failed,  however,  for  want  of  financial  support. 
About  the  same  time,  too,  John  C.  Stevens  of  Hoboken,  New 
Jersey,  built  the  steamboat  Phoenix,  to  ply  between  New  York 
and  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey.  This  venture  probably  would 
have  succeeded,  had  not  the  sole  privilege  of  navigating  the  waters 
cf  New  York  by  steam  been  previously  granted  to  Robert  Fulton. 
Fulton  had  designed  a  steam-propelled  boat,1  called  the  Cler- 
mont,  which  started  on  her  first  trip  up  the  Hudson  August 

7,  1807,  and  reached 
Albany  in  thirty-two 
hours.  A  few  weeks 
afterward  she  began 
regular  trips  between 
New  York  and  Albany 
as  a  passenger  and 
freight  boat.  The  fare 
to  Albany  was  seven 
dollars  —  about  twice 
the  price  of  a  round-trip  ticket  on  one  of  the  fine  Hudson  River 
day  steamers  to-day. 

In  time  steam  was  applied  also  to  ocean  navigation.  As  early 
as  1819  the  steamship  Savannah  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  England,2 
sailing  much  of  the  time  by  the  wind  and  using  steam  only  when 


THE  CLERMONT. 


1  Fulton's  first  design  was  a  boat  not  for  transportation,  but  for  carrying 
and  discharging  explosive  torpedoes,  such  as  are  now  used  in  naval  warfare. 
Having  failed  in  his  efforts  to  induce  both  American  and  French  authorities  to 
utilize  his  scheme,  he  made  a  partnership  with  Robert  R.  Livingston,  then  min 
ister  to  France,  to  use  his  proposed  steamboat  for  commercial  purposes ;  it  was 
through  Livingston  that  he  was  enabled  to  get  the  franchise  for  navigating  the 
waters  of  New  York  State.     The  hull  of  the  Clermont  was  built  on  East  River, 
New  York  City ;  the  engines  were  made  in  Birmingham,  England.     The  boat  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long  and  eighteen  feet  wide.    Her  paddle  wheels  were 
fifteen  feet  in  diameter. 

2  Just  before  the  Savannah  made  her  trip  to  England,  an  English  gentleman 
had  published  a  book  in  which  he  believed  he  had  demonstrated  by  unanswerable 
logic  that  no  steam  vessel  could  ever  cross  the  ocean.     On  her  return  trip  the 
Savannah  carried  a  copy  of  the  work  to  America. 


A   PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL   GROWTH 


241 


the  wind  failed  her.  But  inasmuch  as  about  all  her  freight  space 
was  required  for  fuel,  the  Savannah  was  not  a  successful  venture. 
The  regular  steamship  lines  between  America  and  Europe  were 
started  about  twenty  years  later. 

The  Erie  Canal.  1815-1825.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the  nine 
teenth  century  there  were  many  settlements  scattered  along  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  and  many  others  in  the  vicinity  of  Buffalo,  in 


THE  ROUTE  OF  THE  ERIE  CANAL. 


Showing  the  line  of  transportation  from  Lake 
Erie  to  New  York  City. 

New  York  State.  These  sent  the  sur 
plus  produce  of  their  farms  to  New 
York  City.  There  were  also  some 
very  thriving  settlements  about  Pitts- 
burg  ;  they  shipped  their  goods  to  and 
from  Philadelphia.  Early  in  the  century  the  New  Yorkers  had 
asked  the  Congress  for  an  appropriation  to  build  a  canal  from  Lake 
Ontario  to  Albany,  but  it  was  refused;  and  so  the  matter  lay 
resting  for  several  years.1  Finally  the  business  men  of  New  York 
put  their  hands  into  their  pockets  for  funds  and  began  the  con 
struction  of  the  Erie  Canal,  from  Buffalo  to  the  Hudson.  The 
work  was  begun  in  1815  and  completed  late  in  1825,  at  a  cost 
of  $9,000,000. 

i  Incidentally,  the  New  Yorkers  were  asserted  to  be  "  the  most  persistent 
beggars  that  came  before  the  Congress." 


242  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Immediately  after  the  construction  of  the  canal  the  freight  on 
a  bushel  of  wheat  going  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  was  reduced 
from  $1.10  to  forty  cents.1  Another  effect  became  apparent 
within  a  few  years.  Before  the  building  of  the  canal,  Phila 
delphia  had  a  very  large  foreign  trade  in  comparison  with  that 
of  New  York.  But  most  of  the  vessels  bringing  cargoes  to 
Philadelphia  returned  to  Europe  in  ballast,  because  there  was 
no  certainty  of  getting  a  return  cargo.  After  the  completion 
of  the  canal,  so  much  produce  was  brought  to  New  York  City 
by  the  canal  boats  that  a  ship  was  pretty  certain  to  have  a 
paying  return  cargo.  As  a  result  the  foreign  trade  of  New 
York  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds ;  from  the  second  city  in  popu 
lation  and  the  third  in  commerce,  it  soon  became  the  metropolis 
of  the  continent. 

The  Pennsylvania  Canal.  1826.  —  In  1826,  the  Pennsylvanians, 
seeing  their  transit  business  threatened  by  the  Erie  Canal,  began 
work  on  a  transportation  line  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg. 
Many  obstacles  were  encountered  in  making  this  line,  owing  to 
the  steep  grades  and  the  difficulty  in  getting  the  canal  boats 
from  one  level  to  another.2  The  aggregate  lift  in  the  Erie  Canal 
from  Buffalo  to  tide  water  was  scarcely  more  than  four  hundred 
feet ;  on  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  between  Pittsburg  and  Harris- 
burg  it  was  about  two  thousand  feet.  On  account  of  the  great 
lift,  the  expenses  of  operating  the  canal  were  very  large.  This 
route,  however,  in  spite  of  its  disadvantage  of  heavy  grades, 
became  a  great  traffic  route  ;  in  twenty  years'  time  it  became  the 
line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

Railroad  Building.    1828-1830.  — Within  a  very  short  time  after 

1  In  1900  the  freight  was  a  little  less  than  three  cents  per  bushel. 

2  The  eastern  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  route  consisted  of  a  canal  extending 
from  Philadelphia  to  the  town  of  Columbia.    This  part  of  the  route  was  soon 
afterward  superseded  by  a  tramway,  on  which  cars  drawn  by  horses  were  em 
ployed.    The  central  division  extended  from  Columbia  to  Huntington,  but  from 
the  latter  place  the  canal  boats  were  floated  into  cribs  and  carried  across  the 
Alleghany  Range  to  Johnstown  by  the  Portage  Railroad.    Even  on  the  canals  the 
grades  of  the  route  in  many  places  were  so  steep  that  locks  between  the  levels 
could  not  be  employed,  and  inclined-plane  railways  operated  by  water  power,  or 
by  horses,  were  employed  in  transferring  a  boat  from  one  level  to  another.    The 
western  division  of  the  canal  extended  from  Johnstown  to  Pittsburg. 


A   PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL   GROWTH 


243 


the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal,  it  became  apparent  that  a  system 
of  transportation  more  speedy  than  canal  boats  must  be  undertaken 
in  order  to  accommodate  the  growing  trade  of  the  country.  Balti 
more,  in  turn,  was  alarmed  at  the  threatened  loss  of  her  trade, 
which,  it  was  feared,  would  be  diverted  to  the  Pennsylvania  Canal. 
In  1828,  Charles  Carroll,  the  only  surviving  signer  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  broke  ground  for  a  steam  railway  from 
Baltimore  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  in  Maryland.  The  locomotive 
that  drew  the  solitary  wagon  on  this  road  was  built  by  Peter 
Cooper,  and  was  the  first  American-built  locomotive  engine.  On 


A  RAILROAD  TRAIN  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE,  1831. 

its  trial  trip  the  train  distanced  a  stagecoach  with  which  it 
raced,  and  there  was  much  rejoicing  over  the  first  "rapid 
transit." 1 

Just  before  the  building  of  Cooper's  locomotive,  an  English- 
made  engine  was  delivered  to  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company,  to  be  operated  on  a  short  line  of  coal-mine  tramway, 
but  it  was  not  successful.  In  1830  a  railway  was  opened  between 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  Augusta,  Georgia;  during  the 
following  year,  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  line  was  in  operation 
between  Albany  and  Schenectady  in  New  York.2 

1  This  line,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  opened  fourteen  miles  of  railroad  in  1830. 
It  was  the  first  road  built  expressly  for  transporting  freight  and  passengers. 

2  The  first  rails  used  were  wooden  stringers ;   these  were  afterwards  topped 
with  a  strap  of  iron.     All-iron  rails  were  not  used  for  some  years,  although  the 


244  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Coal  Mining.  —  The  use  of  mineral  coal  as  fuel  was  no  new 
thing  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  A  hard,  anthra 
cite  coal  that  burned  with  difficulty  had  been  mined  at  Tiverton, 
Rhode  Island,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  for 
many  years  the  shipment  of  Tiverton  coal  to  New  York  City  was 
a  good  paying  business.  When  the  first  settlements  were  made 
in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburg,  bituminous  coal  was  discovered  in 
the  bluffs  back  of  the  river,  and  it  was  quite  generally  used  as  a 
house-heating  fuel.  There  was  also  a  seam  of  such  excellent  coal 
at  Richmond,  Virginia,  that  the  product  of  the  mine  was  shipped 
to  Philadelphia,  where  it  retailed  (1789)  at  eighteen  pence  (about 
thirty-six  cents)  per  bushel. 

Anthracite  coal  was  discovered  at  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1790,  but  the  cost  of  getting  it  to  Philadelphia  was  so  great 
that  shipments  were  not  made  for  some  twelve  years  afterward. 
Not  until  canals  were  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  transporting 
did  coal  become  a  regular  commodity.  The  mining  of  the  coal 
at  once  began  to  encourage  the  use  of  steam  power ;  it  likewise 
marked  the  beginning  of  iron  manufacture  on  a  large  scale. 


SUMMAKY 

The  perfection  of  the  steam  engine  led  indirectly  to  cotton  textile 
manufactures  in  England,  and  to  the  extensive  cultivation  of  the  cotton 
plant  in  the  Southern  states. 

The  invention  of  the  cotton  gin  and  the  general  use  of  negroes  in  the 
cotton  fields  made  cotton  cultivation  very  profitable. 

The  stopping  of  commerce  through  the  Embargo  and  Non -intercourse 
acts  and  during  the  War  of  1812  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  manu 
factures  in  the  New  England  states. 

A  distinct  North  and  an  equally  distinct  South  were  created,  as 
industrial  and  political  sections  of  the  United  States. 

The  opening  of  Western  lands  caused  a  tide  of  emigration  along  three 
routes  from  the  East  to  the  food-producing  lands  of  the  West. 

T-rail  was  invented  by  Robert  L.  Stevens  in  1830.  A  part  of  the  driving  wheel 
of  the  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  the  first  locomotive  used  on  the  road,  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  Transportation  Club,  New  York  City. 


A   PERIOD   OF  INDUSTRIAL    GROWTH  245 

The  settlement  of  these  lands  created  a  demand  for  better  facilities 
for  the  transportation  of  crops.  The  Erie  and  the  Pennsylvania  canals 
and  railroad  lines  were  constructed. 


COLLATERAL   READING 

History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States  —  McMaster.  Vol.  Ill, 
Chapter  XXII;  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  XXXIII. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Scribner's.  Vol.  I,  Chapter  I;  Vol.  Ill, 
Chapter' IX;  Vol.  IV;  Vol.  VII,  Chapter  XV;  Vol.  IX,  Chapters 
VIII,  X. 

History  of  the  United  States —  Schouler.     Vols.  I-IV. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

POLITICAL    EVENTS    FROM    THE    TREATY    OF    GHENT    TO    THE 
ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS.    1816-1845 

Monroe  elected  President.  1816.  —  The  period  beginning  with 
the  close  of  the  War  of  1812  was  one  of  great  political  as  well  as 
of  business  activity.  At  the  election  in  November,  1816,  James 
Monroe l  of  Virginia  was  the  successful  candidate.  Daniel  Tomp- 
kins  of  New  York  was  chosen  Vice-President.  The  election  was 
a  decided  victory  for  the  Democratic-Republicans  ;  they  carried 

sixteen  states,  while  the  Federal 
ist  candidate,  Rufus  King  of  New 

York,    carried    but   three.      The 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  MONROE. 

questions  on  which  the  federalist 

party  had  made  its  stand  were  practically  settled  before  the  elec 
tion,  and  that  party  soon  ceased  to  have  an  existence. 

The  Fishery  Treaty.  1818.  —  A  fishery  treaty,  signed  in  London 
(October,  1818)  by  commissioners  of  the  United  States  and  Eng 
land,  gave  the  fishermen  of  the  United  States  the  right  to  enter 
British-American  harbors  to  procure  water  and  fuel,  to  repair 
their  vessels,  and  to  seek  shelter.  Prior  to  1818,  American  fishing 
vessels  had  no  right  to  enter  British- American  harbors  for  any 
purpose.  This  treaty  was  regarded  as  in  the  interests  of  humanity 
rather  than  a  question  of  international  politics. 

The  Accession  of  Florida.  1819.  —  During  the  War  of  1812,  the 
Creek  Indians  in  Georgia  and  Alabama  had  been  trouble- 

1  JAMES  MONROE  (1758-1831)  was  born  in  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia.  He 
studied  at  William  and  Mary  College.  He  fought  in  the  Revolution.  After  the 
close  of  the  war  he  was  in  turn  member  of  the  Congress,  United  States  senator, 
minister  to  France  and  to  Great  Britain,  governor  of  Virginia,  secretary  of 
state,  and  secretary  of  war.  In  1816  he  was  elected  the  fifth  President,  and,  at 
the  expiration  of  his  term,  was  reflected. 

246 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     247 

some l  and  had  been  driven  by  General  Andrew  Jackson  to  Florida, 
where  also  lived  the  Seminole  tribes.  At  that  time  Florida  was  a 
Spanish  possession,  and  therefore  the  Americans  had  no  right  to 
follow  the  Indians  farther.  Taking  advantage  of  this  circum 
stance,  the  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  sending  pillaging 
parties  across  the  border,  murdering  or  kidnapping  people  and 
carrying  off  live  stock.  When,  at  last,  the  trouble  became  in 
tolerable,  General  Jackson  and  his  troops  crossed  the  boundary 
into  Florida  and  administered  a  punishment  that  forever  broke 
the  power  of  these  Indians. 

The  act,  though  necessary,  was  clearly  unlawful ;  and  it  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis.  Spain  opened  negotiations  and  a  treaty  was 
made  (1819)  by  which  she  sold  her  possessions  in  Florida  to  the 
United  States  for  the  sum  of  $5,000,000.  The  United  States  also 
assumed  the  claims  of  her  own  citizens  against  Spain. 

The  Southwestern  Boundary.  —  By  the  treaty  of  1819  wi%  Spain, 
the  line  between  the  Louisiana  Purchase  and  the  Spanish  posses 
sions  to  the  west  and  southwest  was  agreed  upon,  commissioners 
were  appointed  to  locate  it,  and  the  survey  was  completed 
in  1821.2 

The  Northern  Boundary.  — When  the  territory  of  Louisiana  was 
purchased,  no  definite  line  was  set  as  its  northern  boundary ;  this 
boundary,  therefore,  could  be  settled  only  by  an  agreement  with 
Great  Britain.  In  1818,  representatives  of  both  governments 
met  in  London,  and  the  two  parties  agreed  that  "  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  of  latitude  from  a  point  either  due  north  or  due  south  of 
the  northwest  corner  of  Lake  of  the  Woods,  westward  to  the  Stony 
[Rocky]  Mountains"  should  be  the  boundary  between  the  two 
countries. 

1  The  Creeks  attacked  Fort  Mimms  in  Alabama  and  killed  more  than  five 
hundred  persons  (August,  1813).    At  Horseshoe  Bend,  on  a  branch  of  the  Alabama 
River,  Jackson  completely  defeated  them  (March,  1814). 

2  This  line  follows  the  Sabine  River  from  its  mouth  to  the  thirty-second  paral 
lel  of  north  latitude,  thence  due  north  to  the  Red  River ;  up  the  Red  River  to  the 
one  hundredth  meridian;  north  on  this  meridian  to  the  Arkansas  River;  up  the 
Arkansas  to  its  source;  thence  due  north  to  the  forty-second  parallel,  and  west 
ward  on  this  parallel  to  the  Pacific.    It  was  thus  that  Spain  surrendered  her 
claim  to  Oregon. 


248  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

This  agreement  left  the  boundary  between  Oregon  and  Canada 

still  unsettled,  and  inasmuch  as  both  Great  Britain  and  the  United 

States  claimed  the  greater  part  of  the  territory,  it  was 

agreed  that  the  two  should  occupy  it  jointly  for  a 

period  of  ten  years.    By  the  treaty  between  Spain  and  the  United 

States  (1819),  the  forty-second  parallel  of  latitude  was  made  the 

boundary  between  the  Louisiana  territory  and  Oregon. 

In  the  meantime  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  informed  the  United 
States  that  the  Russian  government  claimed  the  fifty-first  parallel 
as  the  southern  boundary  of  Alaska,  then  a  Russian 
possession.  As  the  Russians  had  already  established 
a  colony  in  California,  President  Monroe  judged  that 
Russia  intended  to  prevent  the  United  States  from  having  pos 
session  of  any  territory  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  President  at 
once  made  a  vigorous  protest,  informing  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
that  Ewopean  nations  had  no  right  to  plant  colonies  on  the 
American  continent.  The  raising  of  this  question  brought  about 
a  very  important  policy  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine.     1823. — Hardly  had  President  Monroe 
raised  this  question  of  Russian  colonization  when  a  similar  ques 
tion  presented  itself  from  a  different  source.    The  rulers  of  Russia, 
Prussia,  and    Austria   had  formed   (1815)   what  was 
Alliance^       called  the  Holy  Alliance,  and  it  was  suspected  that 
the  Alliance  was  about  to  attempt  to  restore  to  Spain 
her  South  American   colonies  which  had   revolted  and  formed 
independent  republics.      The  United  States  had  formally  recog 
nized  these  new  governments,  and  had  sympathy  for  them   in 
their  efforts  to  maintain  themselves  as  republics. 

The  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  for  England  proposed  (1823) 
to  the  American  minister  at  London  that  the  United  States 
should  join  with  England  in  a  protest  against  any  interference 
of  the  Holy  Alliance  with  the  South  American  republics.  The 
protest  was  to  state  that,  while  neither  power  desired  any  territory 
in  South  America,  they  would  not  permit  the  interference  of  any 
other  country.  So  the  question  was  laid  before  President  Monroe, 
The  President  did  not  think  it  would  be  proper  to  join  with 
England  in  the  proposed  protest,  but  it  was  determined  to  declare 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     249 

a  policy  in  language  that  could  not  be  misunderstood.  President 
Monroe  asked  Madison  and  Jefferson  their  opinion  in  the  matter. 
They  both  advised  that  we  use  all  possible  means  to  prevent 
the  interference  of  any  foreign  power  in  the  affairs  of  South 
America. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Monroe,  in  his  message 
to  the  Congress  (December,  1823),  announced  the 

doctrine  which   bears   his  name.     It  contained  three    The  Monroe 

Doctrine 
propositions :  — 

First,  free  and  independent  American  countries  were  not  in  future 

to  be  colonized  by  any  European  power. 
Second,  the  monarchical  system  of  Europe  was  not  to  be  extended 

to  the  western  hemisphere. 
Third,  there  was  to  be  no  intervention  by  any  foreign  power  in 

the  political  affairs  of  the  Spanish- American  republics. 

An  attempt  to  violate  any  of  these  propositions  was  to  be  con 
sidered  as  an  act  of  hostility  to  the  United  States. 

President  Monroe  intended  to  announce  this  doctrine  as  a  policy 
with  which  to  govern  his  own  administration,  but  it  has  governed 
all  subsequent  administrations.  The  doctrine  was  enthusiasti 
cally  approved  by  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Daniel  Web 
ster  declared  that  it  formed  "  a  bright  page  in  our  history."  It 
became  an  official  notice  to  the  nations  of  the  Old  World  to  keep 
their  hands  off  the  feeble  republican  governments  of  the  New 
World.  It  was  a  bold  declaration  on  the  part  of  a  nation  less 
than  fifty  years  old  and  with  no  more  than  ten  million  people,  but 
it  was  effectual. 

The  Alliance  never  attempted  to  interfere  with  Spain's  revolted 
colonies ;  and  from  1823  to  the  beginning  of  our  great  Civil 
War,  no  foreign  power  ever  openly  disregarded  the  Monroe 
Doctrine. 

New    States   admitted.     1816-1821.  —  The    settlement    of   the 
Western  lands  had  a  far-reaching  political  effect.     The  indiana> 
lands   of   the   territory  northwest  of   the   Ohio  were  Mississippi, 
settled  mainly  by  people  from  the  Northern  states.  "Ja'bama 
Perhaps  the  greater  number  of  the  people  were  from  Maine, 
New  England ;  certainly  New  England  ideas  of  politi-  Missouri 


250 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


cal  affairs  prevailed.  When  General  Jackson  broke  the  Indian 
power  in  the  Southwest,  a  large  area  of  land,  including  most  of 
Mississippi  and  Alabama,  was  thrown  open  and  rapidly  settled. 
The  people  were  mainly  from  the  South,  and  Southern  ideas  of 
political  affairs  prevailed.  In  a  very  short  time  the  settlers  of 
these  lands,  both  North  and  South,  discovered  that  the  safety 
of  their  lives  and  property  depended  on  a  better  political  organi 
zation  than  that  afforded  by  territorial  government,  and  so  they 


SLAVE  AND  FREE  AREAS  AFTER  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE. 

demanded  to  be  admitted  as  states.  In-five  years,  six  states1 
joined  the  Union  —  Indiana  (1816),  Mississippi  (1817),  Illinois 
(1818),  Alabama  (1819),  Maine  (1820),  and  Missouri  (1821). 

Three  of  them  were  slave  states  and  three  were  free  states. 
The  former  stood  for  free  trade  with  foreign  countries,  the  latter 
were  in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff.  Up  to  1820  the 
number  of  slaves  states  and  free  states  was  the  same. 
In  the  senate,  therefore,  the  two  sides  were  evenly 
represented.  But  when  Missouri  asked  to  be  admitted,  at  once 

1  They  were  respectively  the  nineteenth,  twentieth,  twenty-first,  twenty-second, 
twenty-third,  and  twenty-fourth  states. 


Slave  and 
free  states 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM   TREATY  OF  GHENT      251 

the  question  arose  as  to  whether  there  should  be  any  more  slave 
states  in  the  Union. 

The  Missouri  Compromise.  —  The  admission  of  Missouri  to  the 
Union  was  preceded  by  an  exceedingly  bitter  controversy  leading 
to  an  agreement  known  as  the  Missouri  Compromise.  Missouri 
was  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  and  had  been  organized  as  a 


From  the  painting  by  Rothcrmel. 

CLAY  MAKING  HIS  PLEA  FOR  COMPROMISE. 

territory ;  in  1818  it  applied  to  the  Congress  for  admission  as  a 
state  with  a  constitution  allowing  slavery,  which  -institution  had 
always  existed  in  that  territory.  During  the  consideration  of  the 
bill  proposing  the  admission  of  Missouri,  an  amendment  was 
offered  forbidding  the  further  introduction  of  slavery  and  declar 
ing  that  children  born  of  slaves  in  the  state  after  its  admission 
to  the  Union  should  be  free. 

The  proposed  prohibition  of  slavery  in  Missouri  aroused  great 


252  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

excitement,  and  produced  the  first  important  struggle  between 
the  North  and  the  South  upon  the  slavery  question.  At  this 
time  the  Northern  states  had  abolished  slavery,  but  in  the  South 
ern  states  slave  labor  was  deemed  necessary  for  the  cultivation 
of  cotton.  The  South  was  firmly  united  in  the  defense  cf  slavery 
and  would  not  tolerate  any  restriction  of  it  by  the  Federal  govern 
ment.  Most  of  the  members  of  the  Congress  from  the  free  states 
favored  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  Missouri ;  those  from  the 
slave  states  did  not  deny  the  right  of  the  Congress  to  prohibit 
slavery  in  a  new  state,  but  they  declared  that  such  action  was 
despotic  and  hurtful. 

Finally,  through  the  efforts  of  Henry  Clay  and  other  conser 
vative  members  of  the  Congress,  a  compromise  bill  was  passed 
(March,  1821)  that  temporarily  settled  the  question.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  however,  it  satisfied  no  one.  The  act  provided  that  — 

Missouri  should  be  admitted  as  a  slave  state,  being  offset  by 
Maine  which  came  into  the  Union  as  a  free  state. 

Slavery  wsas  to  be  forever  prohibited  in  that  part  of  the  Louisiana 
territory  north  of  latitude  36°  30',  and  west  of  Missouri. 

Monroe  reflected  ;  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling.  1820.  —  There  was 
no  organized  opposition  to  President  Monroe,  and  he  was  elected 
for  a  second  term  in  1820.  The  Federal  party  had  dissolved, 
and  the  political  affairs  of  the  country  were  controlled  by  the 
Democratic-Republicans.1  Tompkins  was  reflected  Vice-President. 
At  this  time  there  was  general  prosperity  all  over  the  country,  and 
the  period  was  called  "  the  era  of  good  feeling." 

The  Tariff  of  1816;  a  Tariff  for  Protection.  —  In  1816  the  Con 
gress  passed  a  new  tariff  act  especially  intended  to  give  protection 
to  the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States.  During  the  war  with 
England  foreign  goods  had  been  shut  out  of  the  American  mar 
ket,  and  in  consequence  there  had  been  a  great  deal  of  home 
manufacture.  But  when  the  war  had  closed,  the  country  was  at 
once  flooded  with  foreign  goods,  much  to  the  distress  of  the 

1  A  New  Hampshire  elector  had  cast  a  vote  for  John  Quincy  Adams  for  Presi 
dent,  and  the  vote  prevented  Monroe's  election  from  being  unanimous.  He 
alleged  in  explanation  that  he  desired  that  no  one  but  Washington  should  receive 
the  honor  of  a  unanimous  vote. 


254  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

American  manufacturers,  who  were  not  able  to  compete  with 
those  of  Europe.'  The  American  manufacturers,  therefore,  de 
manded  a  higher  tariff,  which  would  increase  the  price  on  such 
imported  goods  as  competed  with  those  made  in  this  country. 
The  Congress  complied  with  the  demand. 

The  tariff  of  1789 l  was  intended  mainly  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  a  revenue  sufficient  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  Federal 
government;  that  of  1816  brought  to  public  notice  the  question 
of  the  protection  of  American  industries.  That  the  new  tariff 
prevented  the  closing  of  many  manufacturing  establishments 
cannot  be  doubted ;  it  was,  therefore,  a  blessing  to  thousands  of 
workmen  who  otherwise  would  have  been  thrown  out  of  employ 
ment.  On  the  other  hand,  it  hurt  seriously  the  Southern  cotton 
planter,  who  did  not  live  in  a  manufacturing  locality  and  was 
compelled  to  pay  higher  prices  for  his  supplies. 

The  Tariff  of  1824.  —  The  tariff  of  1816  did  not  satisfy  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  country,  and  for  several  years 
unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  induce  the  Congress  to  give 
greater  protection  to  American  manufactures.  There  were  angry 
discussions  of  the  principle  of  protection  to  manufactures,  which 
at  last  resulted  in  the  passage  of  the  tariff  act  of  1824,  by  a  small 
majority. 

The  Southern  states  were  firmly  opposed  to  any  increase  of  the 
tariff ;  having  no  manufactures,  they  gained  nothing  by  it,  while 
they  were  compelled  to  pay  still  more  for  their  necessary  supplies 
as  the  tariff  was  increased.  With  an  increased  tariff,  they  claimed 
that  all  the  profits  in  cotton  growing  would  be  taken  from  them. 

The  Northern  and  Western  states,  where  were  located  most  of  the 
manufacturing  establishments,  strenuously  urged  a  higher  tariff, 
on  the  ground  that  their  manufacturers  could  not  compete  with  for 
eign  manufacturers  under  the  rates  fixed  by  the  law  of  1816.  As 
a  result,  not  a  little  bitterness  was  added  to  the  already  unpleasant 
feeling  that  had  grown  up  between  the  two  sections  of  the  country. 

Adams  elected  President,  1824.  —  As  there  was  practically  but 
one  party  in  the  United  States  in  1824,  the  election  in  November 
of  that  year  was  a  personal  contest  between  John  Quincy  Adams 

1  See  page  191. 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     255 

of  Massachusetts,  William  H.  Crawford  of  Georgia,  Henry  Clay 
of  Kentucky,  and  Andrew  Jackson  of  Tennessee.  John  Quincy 
Adams1  was  the  successful  candidate  for  President.2  John  C. 
Calhoun  was  elected  Vice-President. 

Party  Lines  re-formed.  —  During  President  Adams's  administra 
tion,  party  lines  were  again  formed.  Various  political  questions, 
such  as  the  protective  tariff  and  the  right  of  the  Federal 
government  to  improve  highways,  rivers,  and  harbors, 
were  discussed  with  a  great  deal  of  feeling,  and  in 
consequence  the  Democratic-Eepublican  party  was  divided.  Aftei 
a  time  the  friends  of  the  President  formed  a  new  party  called  the 
National  Republicans.  The  National  Republicans  were  believers 
in  the  loose  construction  of  the  Constitution  which  characterized 
the  old  Federal  party.  ^  « 

They  were  in  favor  of    5  0H/^     *+  x^vxx^    J^^  c^Y^^^  . 

a  high  protective  tariff,  " 

T  i     i  -,   ,i_    ,   , ,      -™  .  -,  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  ADAMS. 

and  held  that  the  Fed 
eral  government  should  make  any  internal  improvements  that 
were  for  the  benefit  of  the  country. 

The  followers  of  Andrew  Jackson  united  to  continue  the  old 
Democratic-Republican  party  organization,  but  they  were  known 

thereafter   simply   as   Democrats.     They   were  strict 

,.      .    ,         ,,  ,.  ,.  Democrats 

constructiomsts ;   they  opposed  the  protective  policy  as 

unconstitutional ;  and  they  denied  the  right  of  the  Federal  gov 
ernment  to  make  internal  improvements. 

The  Tariff  of  1828.  —  The  revision  of  the  tariff  to  give  greater 
protection  to  American  industries  occasioned  an  intensely  bitter 

1  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  (1767-1848)  was  the  son  of  John  Adams  and,  like  his 
father,  a  son  of  Massachusetts  and  of  Harvard.    He  served  as  minister  to  the 
Netherlands  and  to  Prussia,  as  United  States  senator  from   Massachusetts,  as 
professor  at  Harvard,  as  minister  to  Russia  and  to  England,  as  secretary  of  state, 
and  finally  as  President,  1825-1829.    His  real  laurels,  however,  were  won  later  as  a 
member  of  Congress,  where,  undaunted  by  opposition,  he  showed  great  ability 
and  eloquence.    He  died,  in  harness,  as  the  phrase  is,  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives. 

2  It  was  commonly  called  the  scrub  race  for  the  presidency.    There  was  not  a 
majority  of  votes  in  the  electoral  college  for  any  one  of  its  four  candidates  ;  so, 
under  the  Constitution,  the  House  of  Representatives  elected  the  President  from 
the  three  candidates  receiving  the  greater  number  of  electoral  votes. 


256  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

feeling.  Higher  duties  on  iron  and  the  manufactures  of -wool 
and  cotton  were  especially  demanded  in  the  North  and  as  hotly 
opposed  in  the  South.  After  a  discussion  lasting  for  weeks,  the 
Congress  passed  (May,  1828),  by  a  small  majority,  a  new  bill 
raising  the  tariff  rates. 

The  people  of  the  South  were  very  indignant  at  its  passage 
and  called  it  the  Bill  of  Abominations.  In  some  of  the  leading 
Southern  cities  mass  meetings  were  held,  and  the  act  was  de 
nounced  in  violent  language.  The  assertion  was  made  that,  under 
the  new  tariff,  the  South  would  be  heavily  taxed  for  the  sole 
benefit  of  the  Northern  manufacturers.  In  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  resolutions  were  passed  declaring  the  tariff  act  unconstitu 
tional,  and  urging  that  it  be  nullified,  that  is,  disobeyed  by  the 
Southern  states. 

Jackson  elected  President.     1828.  —  The  revision  of  the  tariff 
stirred  up  so  much  feeling  throughout  the  country  that  the  elec 
tion  in  1828  was  hotly  contested. 
President  Adams  was  nominated 

by  the   National   Republicans. 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  JACKSON.  TQ  defeat   the    papty  \u   pQwer 

was  the  purpose  of  the  Democrats,  and  they  succeeded.  Andrew 
Jackson1  was  elected  President  and  Calhoun  was  again  made 
Vice-President. 

The  Hayne-Webster  Debate.  1830.  —  In  a  session  of  the  Con 
gress  during  Jackson's  administration  there  occurred  the  memo 
rable  debate  in  the  Senate  between  Eobert  Y.  Hayne  of  South 
Carolina,  and  Daniel  Webster2  of  Massachusetts.  The  debate 

1  ANDREW  JACKSON  (1767-1845)  was  a  native  of  Waxhaw  Settlement.  Xorth 
Carolina.  He  received  little  education  except  such  as  he  picked  up  in  irregular 
study.  He  distinguished  himself  as  a  soldier,  and  became  a  national  hero  in  the 
war  against  the  Creeks  and  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  served  as  governor  of  Florida 
Territory,  and  as  United  States  senator  from  Tennessee.  His  administration  as 
President  was  a  stormy  one.  He  inaugurated  the  theory  that  "To  the  victors 
belong  the  spoils."  Rough,  bold,  persistent,  and  strong  of  character,  "  Old 
Hickory,"  as  he  was  called,  ranks  prominently  among  American  heroes. 

-  DANIEL  WEBSTER  (1782-1852)  was  a  native  of  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire.  He 
graduated  from  Dartmouth  College.  In  1813  he  entered  public  life  as  member  of 
the  Congress  from  New  Hampshire.  In  18%2o  he  was  sent  to  the  Congress  from 
Massachusetts,  and  thenceforth  he  served  continuously  in  the  Congress  and  the 


POLITICAL   EVESTS  FROX  TREATY  OF  GHEXT     257 

cane  about  indirectly  from  the  hostility  of  the  South  to  the  tariff 
of  1828.  There  had  been  threats  from  the  Southern  states  to 
nullify  the  act,  but  no  open  attempt  to  do  so  had  been  made. 

The  debate  was  occasioned  by  a  resolution  limiting  the  sales 
of  public  lands.  Senator  Hayne  criticised  the  conduct  of  the 
manufacturing  trtatri,  and  Webster's  reply  displeased  him.  The 
following  day  Hayne  repeated  his  criticism  of  New  England 
and  advocated  state  rights  — namely,  that  a  state  had  the  right 
to  nullify  the  tariff  act,  or  any  other  law  of  the  Congress  which  it 
believed  to  be  unconstitutionaL 

Webster  dgMi^d  the  right  of  any  state  to  annul  a  Federal  law 
or  to  interfere  with  its  operations,  whether  the  law  in  question 
was  constitutional  or  not.  Hemain- 
:,v.::r  :  -:.:.-  :.  -----  :.  I  •  .-.'L  :::v 
to  interfere  with  the  exercise  of 
r  "••-:  "  r  -"..-  r  -  .-:  .-  _'  "-: :....--:.- 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  alone,  he  said,  was  the  final 
authority  to  decide  what  laws  could 
be  made  by  the  Congress  under  the 
<  ;:-.?:::  ;-:  :  . 

±':.-:-  —  .=•  :  '  :..-  ':.  ...  :-  ~  '  "; 
discussion  among  the  great  party 
leaders  about  either  the  tariff  or 
the  right  of  a  state  to  nullify  an 
act  of  the  Congress,  but  the  teeach 
which  had  been  formed  between 
the  Northern  and  the  Southern  states  was  materially  widened. 

The  Tariff  again  Bfciisei  1832.  — The  Congress  revised  the 
tariff  again  in  1832;  removing  most  of  the  features  criticised  in 
the  tariff  of  1828.  but  the  duties  were  stm  high.  Since  the  Con 
gress  refused  to  abolish  the  protective  tariff,  there  was  intense 
excitement  in  the  Sooth,  and  talk  of  nullification  was  once  more 
heard  in  that  section.  The  people  of  South  Carolina  displayed  a 

m  repl  v  to  Bxjmc  m  JS39. 

-.-.;- 


258 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


deep  feeling  about  the  matter.     They  had  protested  against  the 

act  while  it  was  under  consideration,  and  they  determined  to  take 

steps  to  resist  its  enforcement  in  the  state. 

The  Reelection  of  Jackson.    1832.  —  The  Democrats  renominated 

President  Jackson  for  a  second  term.     The  National  Republicans 

put  in  nomination  their  great  leader,  Henry  Clay.     Jackson  was 

elected  by  a  large  majority.     Martin  Van  Buren  of  New  York 

was  made  Vice-President. 

The  Nullification  Controversy.     1832-1833.  —  The  advocates   of 

state  rights  and  nullification  called  a  convention  at  Columbia,  South 
Carolina,  and  this  convention  adopted  (November,  1832) 

Mhfication  ^e  celebrated  Ordinance  of  Nullification.     It  declared 
that  the  Congress  had  exceeded  its  power  in  enacting 

protective  tariffs.     The  tariff  act  of  1832  was  pronounced  "  null 

and  void "  and  not  binding 
upon  South  Carolina.  It  was 
ordered  that  no  tariff  duties 
should  be  paid  after  Febru 
ary  1, 1833,  and  if  the  Federal 
government  should  attempt  to 
enforce  their  payment,  South 
Carolina  would  no  longer  re 
main  in  the  Union,  but  would 
set  up  an  independent  govern 
ment.  The  state  legislature 
confirmed  the  ordinance,  and 
passed  the  necessary  laws  to 
give  it  effect. 

President  Jackson  therefore 
issued  a  proclamation  urging 
the  people  to  obey  the  Federal 
laws,  and  stating  that  "  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  must 
be  executed."  Shortly  after 

issuing  his  proclamation,  the  President  sent  troops  and  ships  of 

war  to  Charleston  to  be  ready  for  any  forcible  opposition  to  the 

collection  of  the  tariff. 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     259 

The  controversy  excited  the  whole  country.  The  President's 
proclamation  was  heartily  approved  by  the  Northern  people, 
Democrats  and  National  Republicans  alike.  In  many  states  the 
people  passed  resolutions  endorsing  the  position  of  the  President 
and  promising  military  assistance,  should  it  be  needed.  In  the 
South  there  was  a  division  upon  the  question.  The  legislatures 
of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  denounced  nullification,  and 
declared  firmly  for  the  Federal  government.  Even  in  South 
Carolina  there  was  a  "  Union  party,"  resolved  to  take  no  part  in 
the  schemes  of  the  nullifiers. 

Military  preparations  were  begun  in  South  Carolina  immediately 
after  the  adoption  of   the  Ordinance  of  Nullification,  and  were 
continued    for    some    time.       The    state    legislature      Attitude 
ordered  the  enlistment  of  a  force  of  volunteers,  which      of  South 
was  to  be  held  in  readiness  to  take  the  field,  and  the      Carolma 
large  cities  of   the  state  had  much  the  appearance  of  military 
stations.     It  was  generally  believed  that    the   first  attempt   to 
enforce  the  tariff  law  would  be  the  beginning  of  a  civil  war. 

At  the  head  of   the    nullifiers   were  Robert  Y.   Hayne,  then 
governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  John  C.  Calhoun.     Calhoun  had 
resigned  as  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  for      caihoun- 
the    express  purpose  of    being  elected   senator  from      Webster 
South  Carolina,  in  order  that  he  might  become  the 
champion  of  nullification  in  the  Senate.     Calhoun  made  several 
powerful  speeches  in  defense  of  the  doctrine,  and  Webster  an 
swered  them,  claiming  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  and  not  the  state  of  South  Carolina,  must  decide  whether 
or  not  an  act  of  the  Congress  was  right  or  wrong. 

The  Force  Bill.  1833.  —  In  the  meantime  the  Congress  passed 
an  act  giving  the  President  the  power  to  enforce  the  tariff  act,  if 
need  be,  by  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States.  This  act  was 
popularly  called  the  Force  Bill.  President  Jackson  threatened 
to  arrest  Calhoun  for  treason  if  he  counseled  further  resistance 
to  the  collection  of  duties. 

Henry  Clay  brings  about  a  Reduction  of  the  Tariff.  1833. — At 
this  time  Henry  Clay,  the  leader  of  the  protectionists,  introduced 
a  bill  in  the  Congress  for  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  tariff.  The 


260 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


reduction  was  to  extend  through  nine  years,  until  the  rates 
reached  the  point  at  which  they  should  exist  as  a  tariff  for  revenue 
only.  Clay  had  always  been  a  strong  advocate  for  protection,  but 
now  he  saw  that  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  tariff  would  avert  the 
danger  of  a  civil  war.  He  believed  that  his  compromise  measure 

would  satisfy  South  Carolina 
and  the  other  Southern  state  s> 
and  would  restore  harmony  to 
the  country.  At  the  same  time 
the  slow  reduction  of  the  tariff 
rates  would  enable  the  manu 
facturers  of  the  North  and  the 
West  to  arrange  their  business 
so  as  to  avoid  disaster  from 
sudden  competition  with  foreign 
goods. 

The  nullifiers  decided  that 
they  would  not  resist  the  col 
lection  of  the  tariff  at  that  time, 
but  would  wrait  until  after  the 
Congress  adjourned.  Before 
that  time,  however,  the  compro 
mise  tariff  had  become  a  la\v 
by  a  large  majority  of  votes. 
South  Carolina  accepted  the 
compromise  and  repealed  the 
Ordinance  of  Nullification. 

Rotation  in  Office.  —  During 
President  Jackson's  two  terms, 
a  great  many  officeholders,  such 
as  revenue  collectors,  land 
agents,,  postmasters,  and  depart 
ment  clerks,  were  removed  from  office  for  political  reasons,  and 
their  places  were  given  to  what  were  known  as  "  Jackson  men." 
The  system  of  rotation  in  office  was  thus  established.  It  was 
thought  to  be  a  very  democratic  system  and  beneficial  to 
the  country,  because  it  gave  to  every  citizen  a  chance  for 


HENRY  CLAY. 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     261 

office.1  In  accordance  with  this  idea,  the  subordinate  offices 
of  the  government  were  generally  bestowed  as  compensation  for 
political  services.  Every  President  from  1829  to  1883  followed 
this  plan  in  filling  the  offices.  In  the  latter  year  the  present 
method  of  selecting  candidates  by  competitive  examinations,  called 
the  civil  service  system,  came  into  use. 

Jackson  and  the  United  States  Bank.  1831-1836.  —  The  bank 
of  the  United  States  had  been  rechartered  by  the  Congress  in  181G 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years.2  Jackson  did  not  believe  in  The  power 
a  national  bank  and,  knowing  that  the  charter  would  of  the 
soon  run  out,  he  determined  to  do  all  that  he  could  to  bank 
weaken  the  bank.  By  skillful  management  the  bank  had  become 
the  most  important  financial  institution  in  the  United  States.  It 
had  become  not  only  a  financial  power,  but  a  tremendous  political 
factor  as  well,  and  it  was  said  that  "  great  financiers,  merchant 
princes,  eminent  statesmen,  were  its  fawning  servants,  ready  to  do 
its  bidding";  certain  it  is  that  it  had  become  a  public  scandal. 
All  the  funds  of  the  Federal  government  were  held  and  disbursed 
by  it,  and  it  acted  in  all  financial  matters  as  the  government's 
agent.  Jackson,  like  most  other  Democrats,  believed  that  the 
bank  had  grown  corrupt  from  its  great  authority,  that  it  was  a 
danger  to  the  country  on  account  of  its  power,  and  that  it  should 
be  put  out  of  existence.  He  therefore  determined  to  curb  it,  and 
carried  out  his  purpose  so  well  that  he  caused  its  destruction  as 
a  government  institution. 

In  1831  application  was  made  to  the  Congress  for  a  renewal 
of  the  charter  for  fifteen  years.     The  Democrats  were  generally 
opposed  to  a  government  bank,  but  the  National  Re 
publicans  favored  the  idea.     For  five  months  the  two  ar 


parties  in  the  Congress  fought  over  the  rechartering 
of  the  bank.     In  the  Senate,  Clay  and  Webster  did  all  they  could 
to  aid  the  bank,  while  Thomas  Benton  of  Missouri  led  the  oppo 
sition  to  it  as  the  President's  champion.     In  spite  of  the  earnest 
efforts  of  the  Democrats,  an  act  to  recharter  the  bank  was  passed, 

1  Critics  have  called  it  the  "  spoils  system  "  from  an  expression  in  a  speech  by 
Senator  Marcy,  "  To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils  of  the  enemy." 

2  See  page  230. 


262  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

but  it  was  vetoed  by  the  President.  The  friends  of  the  measure 
could  not  muster  the  vote  of  two  thirds  which  was  necessary  to 
pass  it  over  the  President's  veto.  The  reelection  of  Jackson  was 
regarded  as  the  popular  approval  of  his  policy. 

In  a  message  to  the  Congress  the  President  urged  that  an 
examination  of  the  bank's  affairs  be  made.  He  expressed  doubts 
as  to  the  safety  of  the  government's  money  in  the  bank,  then 
amounting  to  about  $10,000,000,  and  recommended  that  the  money 
be  removed.  The  Congress  would  not  order  an  investigation ;  the 
President  therefore  (1833)  ordered  the  secretary  of  the  treasury 
to  remove  the  government  deposits  from  the  bank.  The  secretary 
refused,  and  Jackson  removed  him  from  office  and  appointed  Roger 
B.  Tariey  in  his  place.  Secretary  Taney  complied  with  the  order. 

The  government  then  gradually  drew  its  money  from  the  bank 
to  pay  its  current  expenses.  All  future  deposits,  instead  of  being 
made  in  the  bank,  were  to  be  placed  in  certain  state 
discontinued  ^)an^:s  which  came  to  be  known  as  pet  banks.  The 
bank  of  the  United  States  therefore  ceased  to  be  a 
government  institution  after  its  charter  had  expired  in  1836.  It 
became  a  state  bank  under  a  charter  from  the  state  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  but  its  political  power  was  broken,  and  in  1840  it  ended 
its  existence. 

Van  Buren  elected  President.  1836.  —  The  Democratic  candi 
date  for  President  in  1836  was  Martin  Van  Buren1  of  New 
York.  At  this  time  the  National  Republicans  nominated  General 

William  Henry  Harrison  of  Ohio. 
Van  Buren  was  elected,  with 

Richard  M.  Johnson  of  Kentucky 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  VAN  BUREN.  ^T.      ,..       .  , 

as  Vice-President. 

Party  Platforms.  1836.  —  The  National  Republicans  of  New 
York  had  vigorously  protested  against  President  Jackson's  action 

1  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN  (1782-1862)  was  born  at  Kinderhook,  New  York.  He 
began  his  study  of  the  law  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  was  speedily  admitted  t» 
the  bar.  He  was  in  succession  United  States  senator,  governor  of  New  York, 
secretary  of  state,  and  Vice-President.  In  1837  he  became  the  eighth  President. 
He  furthered  the  establishment  of  the  independent  treasury  system.  His  last 
years  were  spent  in  travel  in  Europe  and  in  retirement  at  Kinderhook.  He  pos 
sessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  power  of  winning  personal  trust  and  influence 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     263 

in  the  bank  matter,  and  had  likened  him  to  the  English  king, 
George  the  Third,  whom  the  American  Whigs  of  Revolutionary 
days  had  fought.  They  assumed  the  name  of  Whigs 
because  they  opposed  Jackson,  who,  they  declared, 
was  a  kind  of  tyrant.  The  name  pleased  the  National  Republi 
cans  throughout  the  country,  and  was  soon  adopted  by  the  party. 
The  Whigs  favored  the  old  Federal  party's  loose  construction 
of  the  Constitution,  a  protective  tariff,  a  government  bank,  and 
internal  improvements  by  the  government.  Upon  the  various 
questions  concerning  slavery,  which  were  then  beginning  to  agi 
tate  the  public,  they  were  about  evenly  divided,  like  the  Demo 
cratic  party. 

The  Democrats  were  true  to  the  Jeffersonian  principles.     They 
insisted  that  the  Constitution  should  be  construed  by  the  very 
letter  of  the  law,  in  order  that  the  national  government 
should  not  have  too  much  power  and  thus  be  danger-     Democrats 
ous  to  the  people.     They  approved  of  the  President's 
action  in  the  matter  of  the  bank,  and  disapproved  a  protective 
tariff  and  of  internal  improvements  by  the  government.     They 
believed  that  the  states  should  make  their  own  canals,  highways, 
and  other  improvements,  and  not  expect  the  general  government 
to  do  the  work. 

Public  Funds  loaned  for  State  Improvements.  1836.  —  In  1836 
it  was  announced  that  the  public  debt  had  been  virtually  paid, 
and  that  there  were  surplus  funds  in  the  national  treasury  amount 
ing  to  about  $35,000,000.  In  consequence,  the  Congress  enacted 
that  all  the  surplus  in  excess  of  $5,000,000  should  be  loaned  to 
the  states  to  aid  them  in  their  development.  The  loan  was  to 
be  recalled  only  by  an  act  of  the  Congress.  During  1836-1837 
$28,000,000  were  distributed  among  the  states.  None  of  this 
was  ever  recalled. 

The  Independent  Treasury  Plan.  1840.  —  The  independent  treas 
ury  plan,  now  in  use  by  the  national  government,  was  first  pro 
posed  by  President  Van  Buren.  A  dreadful  financial  panic  in 
1837  caused  a  demand  for  relief  measures  by  the  government. 
The  Whigs  clamored  for  another  national  bank.  Van  Buren 
thought  the  government  should  be  its  own  banker,  a.nd  he  recorn- 


264  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN   NATION 

mended  the  adoption  of  an  "independent  or  snbtreasury  plan," 
by  which  the  government  was  to  have  a  main  treasury  at  Wash 
ington  and  subtreasuries  in  other  cities.  All  the  government 
money  was  to  be  deposited  in  these  treasuries,  and  not  in  the 


THE  TREASURY  BUILDING  AT  WASHINGTON. 

state  banks,  as  was  then  the  practice.  According  to  Van  Buren's 
plan,  an  independent  treasury  was  established  in  1840.1 

New  States.  1836-1837.  —  During  Van  Buren's  administra 
tion  two  new  states  were  added  to  the  Union,  the  first  in  the 
fifteen  years  that  had  elapsed  since  the  Missouri 
Arkansas,  Compromise.  Arkansas,  'the  twenty-fifth  state,  was 
admitted  in  1836 ;  Michigan,  the  twenty-sixth  state, 
was  admitted  in  1837.  The  former  was  a  slave,  the  latter  a  free 
state. 

The  Election  of  Harrison  and  Tyler.  1840. — The  election  of  1840 
was  one  of  the  most  exciting  ever  known  in  the  United  States. 
The  Democrats  renominated  President  Van  Buren.  Van  Buren's 
administration  had  been  marked  by  financial  troubles  due  to  the 
closing  of  the  United  States  Bank  and  to  the  establishment  of 
worthless  banks  all  over  the  country.  He  and  his  party  were 
therefore  in  great  disfavor.  William  Henry  Harrison2  of  Ohio 

1  The  subtreasuries  were  established  in  Boston,  New  York,  Charleston,  and  St. 
Louis.    The  mint  was  at  Philadelphia. 

2  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  (1773-1841)  was  born  in  Charles  City  County, 
Virginia.    He  represented  the  Northwest  Territory  as  delegate  to  the  Congress, 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     265 

was  the  candidate  of  the  Whigs.     An  anti-slavery  candidate  was 
nominated   by  a  party   that  was    rapidly   growing   in    numbers. 
General    Harrison    was    a    plain 
farmer,    whose    good    hard    sense 
had   brought   him    to    the    front ; 
he    had    shown    himself    a    great       THE  AuTOGRAPH  OF  HARRISON. 
soldier  and  a  good  statesman.     As 

the  "  log-cabin  "  candidate  of  the  farmers  he  received  almost  uni 
versal  support,  and  the  Democrats  were  defeated  after  being 
nearly  forty  years  in  power. 

Harrison  died  after  he  had  been  in  office  only  one  month,  and 
Vice-President  Tyler  *  then  became  President. 

National  Bank  Acts  Vetoed.  —  Early  in  President  Tyler's  admin 
istration,  the  Whigs  succeeded  in  passing  an  act  for  the  establish 
ment  of  a  national  bank,  somewhat  like  the  former  bank  of  the 
United  States,  but  the  President,  believing  that  a  national  bank 
was  unconstitutional,  vetoed  the  measure.  A  second  bill  in  dif 
ferent  form  was  also  vetoed,  and  could  not  be  passed  over  the  veto. 
The  President's  action  angered  the  party  leaders,  and  all  the  mem 
bers  of  his  cabinet  except  Webster  resigned.  Webster  remained 
until  the  settlement  of  treaty  negotiations  with  England  and  then 

withdrew.  President  Tyler  was 
promptly  "  read  out  of  the 
party."  The  Whigs  had  to  aban 
don  the  project  of  a  national  bank, 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  TYLER.  &nd  it  hag  never  been  revivetL 

The  Tariff.  1842-1861.  —  By  the  terms  of  the  Compromise  Act 
of  1833,2  which  settled  the  nullification  storm,  the  tariff  rates  on 

and  was  governor  of  Indiana  Territory.  He  defeated  the  Indians  in  the  important 
battle  of  Tippecanoe  (1811),  and  served  as  major-general  in  the  War  of  1812,  win 
ning  the  victory  of  the  Thames.  He  was  in  turn  representative  and  United  States 
senator  from  Ohio.  In  1840  he  became  the  ninth  President  by  a  large  majority. 

1  JOHN  TYLER  (1790-1802)  was  born  at  Greenway,  Virginia.  He  was  educated 
at  William  and  Mary  College.  Shortly  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  entered 
upon  a  political  career  which  saw  him  member  of  the  Congress,  governor  of 
Virginia,  United  States  senator,  and,  in  1840,  Vice-President.  On  the  death  of 
President  Harrison,  he  became,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  the  tenth  President.  In 
1861  he  was  a  member  of  the  peace  conference  at  Washington,  and  was  elected  to 
the  Confederate  Provisional  Congress.  2  See  page  259. 


266          THE  MAKING   Off  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

July  1,  1846,  were  not  to  exceed  twenty  per  cent,  which  was  con 
sidered  below  the  point  which  gave  protection  to  manufactures. 
But  when  the  time  came  for  the  revenue  tariff  to  be  reduced  to 
twenty  per  cent,  it  was  found  that  such  a  low  rate  would  not  pro 
duce  revenue  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  government. 
Therefore  a  new  tariff  was  necessary.  The  Whigs  passed  the 
Tariff  Act  of  1842,  which  raised  the  rates  to  an  average  of  thirty 
per  cent ;  but  four  years  afterward  the  Democrats  repealed  the  act 
and  enacted  in  its  place  the  Walker  Tariff  Act,  under  which  the 
rates  ranged  from  five  to  one  hundred  per  cent.  The  revenue  from 
this  tariff  was  large,  and  in  some  years  it  was  more  than  was 
required.  In  1857  the  tariff  was  revised  and  many  reductions 
were  made;  then  in  1861  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  WTar  put 
an  end  to  the  matter  for  several  years. 

The  Webster-Ashburton  Treaty.  1842.  —  The  long-standing  dis 
pute  about  the  northeast  boundary  of  the  United  States,  as  laid 
down  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
was  settled  in  1842.  A  treaty  was  negotiated  at  Washington  by 
Secretary  of  State  Daniel  Webster,  and  Lord  Ashburton,  com 
missioner  for  Great  Britain.  The  boundary,  as  finally  agreed 
upon,  gave  some  additional  territory  to  New  York  and  New  Hamp 
shire,  and  took  some  away  from  Maine. 

Polk  elected  President.  1844. — The  presidential  election  of  1844 
resulted  in  a  victory  for  the  Democrats.  James  K.  Polk  T  of  Ten 
nessee  and  George  M.  Dallas  of  Pennsylvania  were  elected  over 
Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysenof  New  York. 

Florida  Admitted.  1845.  —  Florida,  the  twenty-seventh  state,  was 
admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  last  day  of  President  Tyler's 
administration. 

The  Oregon  Country.  —  As  has  been  previously  noted,2  the  treaty 
of  1818  left  the  territory  of  Oregon  to  be  held  jointly  by  Great 

1  JAMES  KNOX  POLK  (1795-1849)  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  County,  North  Caro 
lina.    He  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  (1818).    He  under 
took  the  practice  of  law  in  Columbia,  Tennessee.    His  life  was  largely  devoted  to 
politics ;  he  was  member  of  the  Congress  from  Tennessee  for  fourteen  years,  and 
governor  for  three  years.    In  1844  he  was  chosen  the  eleventh  President.    Not 
brilliant,  but  eminent,  just,  and  upright,  he  won  the  respect  even  of  his  opponents. 

2  See  page  248. 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM  TREATY  OF  GHENT     267 


Marcus 
Whitman  , 
the  settle 
ment  of 
Oregon 


Britain  and  the  United  States ;  another  agreement  in  1827  con 
tinued  the  same  arrangement  for  an  indefinite  time,  either  party 
having  the  right  to  end  the  agreement  on  a  year's  notice.  Being 
north  of  the  line  of  36°  30'  all  the  domain  was  free  soil,  according 
to  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

Early  in  the  '30's  some  Indians  of  the  far  West  journeyed  to 
St.  Louis  in  search  of  a  Bible,  about  which  they  had  learned 
through  Jesuit  missionaries.  This  interesting  fact 
having  become  known,  a  number  of  missionaries  of 
various  denominations  made  their  way  to  Oregon. 
Among  them  was  Marcus  Whitman.  Reports  of  the 
country  that  were  sent  back  by  the  missionaries  were 
so  promising  that  many  people  in  search  of  good  farms  were  per 
suaded  to  settle  in  the  Oregon  country.  Indeed,  so  many  came 
that  the  English  fur  traders 
were  alarmed,  and  they  in 
turn  arranged  to  have  an 
English  colony  go  to  the  ter 
ritory.  Whitman  •  saw  that 
nothing  but  prompt  action 
would  save  the  territory  to 
the  Americans,  and  therefore 
crossed  the  continent  in  mid 
winter  in  order  to  interest 
the  leaders  at  Washington. 
Whitman  convinced  the  lead 
ing  congressmen  that  the 
Oregon  country  was  worth 
the  struggle  to  hold  it.  He 
created  so  much  public  in 
terest  in  the  matter  that  in  the  next  few  years  the  population 
of  the  region  increased  to  more  than  ten  thousand. 

As  a  result,  in  1846,  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  made 
a  new  treaty  in  regard  to  the  boundary  of  Oregon.        ^^ 
The  United  States  had  always  claimed  the  region  as     established 
far  as  the  Alaska  line,  latitude  54°  40'  north,  but  the 
English  had  disputed  the  claim  and  asserted  that  the  Columbia 


THE  OREGON  COUNTRY. 


268  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

River  was  the  right  boundary.  All  north  of  the  river  was  claimed 
as  British  possessions.  In  the  presidential  campaign  of  1844  the 
Oregon  dispute  had  been  a  political  issue,  and  the  Democrats  had 
used  the  rallying  cries  of,  "  Fifty-four  forty  or  fight,"  and  "  The 
whole  of  Oregon  or  none,  with  or  without  war  with  England." 
By  the  treaty  made  in  Washington  in  June,  1846,  the  Oregon 
boundary  was  fixed  at  the  forty-ninth  parallel.  That  part  of 
the  region  which  passed  to  England  was  named  British  Columbia. 
Oregon  was  made  a  territory  in  1848 ;  out  of  it  were  subsequently 
created  the  states  of  Oregon,  Washington,  and  Idaho. 


SUMMARY 

During  Monroe's  administration  the  United  States  bought  Florida 
from  Spain,  in  1819,  for  $5,000,000. 

The  northern  boundary  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  determined  by  a 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  west  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  the  southern  boundary  by  a  treaty  with  Spain. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine,  set  forth  in  1823,  declared  that  American  coun 
tries  were  neither  to  be  colonized  nor  to  be  conquered  by  European 
powers. 

In  1820  the  Congress  adopted  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which  forbade 
slavery  north  of  the  parallel  of  36°  30'  and  west  of  Missouri. 

The  tariff,  originally  passed  in  1789  to  raise  a  revenue  for  government 
expenses,  was  increased  in  1816,  and  again  in  1824. 

During  John  Q.uincy  Adams's  administration,  the  tariff  was  again  in 
creased  in  1828 ;  the  act  was  termed  the  Bill  of  Abominations. 

During  Jackson's  first  term,  the  tariff  was  slightly  reduced.  During 
his  second  term,  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  in  opposition  to  the  tariff, 
passed  the  Ordinance  of  Nullification.  Henry  Clay  kept  peace  by  an 
act  gradually  reducing  the  tariff. 

President  Jackson  withdrew  the  public  funds  from  the  United  States 
Bank  and  prevented  the  renewal  of  its  charter. 

During  Van  Buren's  administration,  the  surplus  of  public  funds  was 
apportioned  among  the  states  for  public  improvements.  The  plan  of 
subtreasuries  for  the  deposit  and  payment  of  public  funds  was 
adopted. 

During  the  first  month  of  his  administration,  President  Harrison 
died,  and  Vice-President  Tyler  became  President.  The  tariff  was  in- 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM   TREATY  OF  GHENT     269 

creased  in  order  to  raise  'a  revenue  sufficient  for  the  expenses  of  the 
government. 

During  Folk's  administration,  the  forty-ninth  parallel  was  made  the 
boundary  between  Oregon  and  British  America. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

History   of  the   People   of  the    United   States  —  McMaster.     Vol.    IV, 
Chapters  XXXI,  XXXIV,  XXXIX. 

History  of  the  United  States  —  Schouler.     Vol.  Ill ;  Vol.  IV. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE  EXPANSION   OF   SLAVERY;    POLITICAL  EVENTS; 
INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS.    1845-1860 

Slavery  Agitation.  —  After  the  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820 
the  slavery  controversy  in  the  Congress  was  settled  for  a  time. 
But  it  was  only  a  period  of  lull  before  a  great  storm ; 
hi  Illinois  ^ie  advocates  an(l  tne  opponents  of  slavery  were  or 
ganizing  and  gaining  strength.  In  the  free  state  of 
Illinois  at  one  time  it  looked  as  if  the  institution  of  slavery  might 
be  legalized  by  state  action.  Every  free  negro  in  Illinois  was 
required  to  have  a  certificate  of  freedom  from  the  clerk  of  the 
county  in  which  he  lived.  If  he  were  without  this  document,  he 
could  be  seized  as  a  runaway  and  sold  into  service  for  one  year. 
On  account  of  the  lawless  character  of  free  negroes,  many  of 
whom  were  living  in  idleness,  some  such  law  was  necessary ;  but 
it  was  shamefully  abused.  Unfortunately,  many  peaceful  and 
industrious  negroes  were  thus  seized  and  rushed  across  the  river 
into  Missouri,  where  they  were  sold  into  slavery.  Many  others 
were  kept  indefinitely  in  servitude  after  their  terms  had  expired. 
Indeed,  actual  slavery  was  practiced  in  open  violation  of  the  law. 

When  the  slaveholders  of  Illinois  discovered  that  the  best 
negroes  were  being  carried  over  the  river  into  Missouri,  they 
attempted  to  make  Illinois  a  slave  state,  pure  and  simple.  This, 
the  antislavery  party  said,  could  not  be  done  because  the  Ordi 
nance  of  1787  forbade  slavery  in  the  Northwest  Territory.  In 
reply  to  this,  the  proslavery  party  pointed  out  that  southern 
Illinois  had  been  a  part  of  Virginia,  and  when  the  lands  were 
ceded  to  the  Federal  government,  it  was  agreed  that  the  settlers 
"should  have  their  possessions  confirmed  to  them."  Slaves, 
they  declared,  were  lawful  possessions  ;  therefore  the  constitution 

270 


MAP  SHOWING  THE 

TERRITORIAL  GROWTH 

OF*    THIS 

UNITED  STATES 


0       50      1C  20')  300  401)  500 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY  271 

of  Illinois  might  be  amended  so  as  to  make  it  a  slave  state. 
The  question  was  submitted  to  a  popular  election,  and  the  anti- 
slavery  party  won  by  a  small  plurality. 

By  this  time,  a  wave  of  antislavery  sentiment  had  inflamed 
the  whole    country.      Antislavery  parties  were  formed  all  over 
the  North  ;  the  proslavery  friends  met  the  movement 
with    firm    opposition.      An    antislavery    paper,    the      nt,ls  ****? 
Liberator,  edited  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison  at  Boston, 
achieved  national  reputation.     Another,  the  Observer,  published 
at  Alton,  Illinois,  so  angered  the  proslavery  party  that  a  mob 
wrecked  the  office  and  murdered  Elijah  Lovejoy,  the  editor. 


VOL.I.1  WILLIAM    LLOYD    GARRISON    AND    ISAAC    KNAPP,    PDBLISHERS.  (NO.  2'j 

BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS.]  OUB  COUNTRY  is  THE  WORLD — OUR  COUNTRYMEN  ARE  IIANKIXD.  [SATURDAY,  MAT  28, 1831. 

THE  HEADING  OF  THE  LIBERATOR. 

In  the  Congress  a  hostile  feeling  grew  up.     The  Congress  was 
besieged  with  petitions   to   abolish   slavery  in  the   District   of 
Columbia,  where  it  then  existed.     Finally  the  discus 
sion  became  so  bitter  that  a  rule  was  passed  (1836)        R^e  ag 
forbidding  any  petition  relating  to  slavery  to  be  re 
ceived.     This  rule  was   commonly  known  as  the  Gag  Kule ;   in 
a  strict  sense  it  violated  the  Constitution,1  but  it  seemed  to  be 
necessary  to  prevent  Congressional  business  from  being  blocked 
by  the  reading  of  numberless  petitions.     It  was  adopted  by  each 
succeeding  Congress  for  a  number  of  years. 

1  See  Constitution,  Article  I  of  Amendments.  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  had 
just  begun  his  congressional  career  (1831),  vigorously  defended  the  constitutional 
right  of  petition.  Thousands  of  antislavery  petitions  were  seut  to  him  for  presen 
tation  to  Congress. 


272  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Texas  secedes  from  Mexico.  —  The  proslavery  party  had  been 
looking  for  an  opportunity  to  extend  the  slaveholding  area,  and 
The  owner-  *ne  vas^  country  of  Texas  offered  an  inviting  field, 
ship  of  For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  1845,  the  proposed  an- 

Texas  nexation  of  the  republic  of  Texas  to  the  United  States 

was  a  matter  of  not  a  little  political  discussion.  The  immense 
country  of  Texas  then  had  an  area  of  more  than  three  hundred 
thousand  square  miles.  It  had  been  claimed  by  the  Americans  as  a 
part  of  the  province  of  Louisiana,  which  the  United  States  pur 
chased  from  France  in  1803.  Spain  always  declared,  however, 
that  Texas  belonged  to  her  colony  of  Mexico ;  and  so  (1819),  after 
lengthy  negotiations,  the  United  States  gave  up  the  region  to 
Spain,  and  took  in  exchange  the  Spanish  possession  of  Florida.1 

The  Spanish  authorities  of  Texas,  desirous  of  peopling  the  fer 
tile  region,  invited  immigration  from  foreign  countries,  including 
the  United  States,  and  as  a  result  several  colonies  were 
colony  established  in  the  Texan  coast  district.  The  largest  of 

these  colonies  was  composed  of  settlers  from  the  United 
States.  It  was  established  by  Stephen  F.  Austin,  whose  father 
had  received  an  extensive  land  grant  from  the  Spanish  authorities 
but  had  died  before  making  a  settlement.  The  son  carried  out 
the  father's  plans,  and  the  Austin  colony  grew  so  rapidly  that 
it  soon  had  twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  Thus  it  came  about 
that  the  settlers  in  Texas  were  mainly  American  ;  they  came  from 
the  Southern  states  and  brought  their  slaves  with  them. 

The  Mexicans  revolted  against  Spanish  rule,  and  (1821)  finally 
became  an  independent  republic  consisting  of  a  number  of  states 
The  joined  in  a  federation  something  like  that  of  the  United 

republic  of  States.  The  Spanish  provinces*  of  Coahuilaand  Texas 
Mexico  were  united  an(j  formed  one  of  the  states  of  Mexico.2 

In  1834  another  revolution  began  in  Mexico,  and  General  Santa 
Anna,  a  famous  Mexican  soldier  who  called  himself  the  "Na 
poleon  of  the  West,"  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  government 
as  dictator. 

1  See  page  247. 

2  In  1824  the  Mexican  Congress  forbade  the  importation  of  slaves,  and  in  1829 
abolished  slavery  altogether. 


THE  EXPANSION   OF  SLAVERY 


273 


The  people  of  Texas  would  not  submit  to  the  usurpation  of 
Santa  Anna,  and  declared  that  resistance  to  such  tyranny  was  a 
duty.  They  raised  an  army  to  defend  their  rights,  and  The  inde. 
issued  a  formal  declaration  of  independence.  To  main-  pendence 
tain  their  independence,  the  Texans  formed  a  volun-  °  Texas 
teer  army,  commanded  by  Sam  Houston,  which  was  reen forced  by 
many  good  fighting  men  from  the  United  States. 

The  Mexicans  attacked  the  town  of  San  Antonio  and  for  two 
weeks  attempted  to  capture 
it,  but  without  success,  al 
though  less  than  two  hun 
dred  Texans  defended  it. 
The  defenders  occupied  an 
inclosure  called  the  Alamo. 
Several  thousand  Mexican 
troops,  led  by  Santa  Anna, 
made  a  furious  assault  on 
the  Alamo.  In  the  third 
charge  they  mounted  the 
walls  and  entered  the  in 
closure.  The  Texans  fought 
until  every  one  was  slain. 
Another  battle  occurred  near 
Goliad,  in  which  about  three 
hundred  Texans  were  mas 
sacred  after  surrendering. 
Finally,  the  armies  met  at 
the  San  Jacinto  River 
(April,  1835)  in  a  decisive 
battle.  The  Mexican  army 
was  almost  annihilated. 

The  Republic  of  Texas.  1836-1845. — After  the  battle  of  San 
Jacinto  little  effort  was  made  by  Mexico  to  reconquer  Texas. 
General  Houston  was  chosen  president  of  the  republic,  and  the 
government  was  thoroughly  organized.  The  constitution  of  Texas 
recognized  slavery,  and  its  code  on  that  subject  was  borrowed  from 
the  slave  codes  of  the  Southern  states.  Texas  was  formally  recog- 


274  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

nized  by  the  United  States  and  by  European  powers.  Mexico, 
however,  would  never  recognize  it,  but  always  maintained  that  it 
was  merely  a  rebellious  Mexican  state,  which  would  eventually  be 
subdued.  The  people  of  Texas  became  desirous  of  annexation  to 
the  United  States,  but  there  was  so  much  opposition  to  this  pro 
posal  in  many  parts  of  the  North  and  the  West  that  it  failed, 
mainly  because  Texas  had  established  slavery. 

The  Annexation  of  Texas.  1845.  —  In  the  latter  part  of  Tyler's 
administration  the  matter  of  annexation  was 
again  urged,  and  with  a  successful  result. 
At  this  time  John  C.  Calhoun,  the  leader  of 
the  proslavery  party,  was  the  secretary 
of  state.  Calhoun  was  earnestly  in  favor 
of  annexation,  for  Texas  was  a  slave- 
holding  republic,  and  he  believed  that 
several  slave  states  might  be  formed  out  of 
it.  If  this  could  be  brought  about,  it  would 
greatly  increase  the  power  of  the  South  in 
THE  «  LONE  STAB  "  FLAG  national  affairs. 

OF  THE  REPUBLIC  OF        Calhoun   frankly  stated  that  his   chief 
object  in  annexation  was  to  advance  the 

interests  of  slavery  and  to  extend  its  influence.  He  believed, 
Ar  uments  moreover,  that  if  Texas  were  not  taken  into  the 
forannexa-  American  Union,  it  would  speedily  form  an  alliance 
tlon  with  Great  Britain,  and  such  an  alliance  would  be 

a  detriment  to  the  United  States.  So  President  Tyler  secretly 
negotiated  a  treaty  of  annexation  with  the  authorities  of  Texas, 
and  (April,  1844)  presented  it  to  the  Senate  for  ratification. 

The  Senate  discussed  the  annexation  treaty  for  some  time,  but 
finally  rejected  it.  It  was  very  generally  favored  by  the  South- 
Arguments  ern  senators,  but  the  senators  from  the  free  states, 
against  Whigs  and  Democrats  alike,  opposed  it.  Some  thought 
annexation  ^  would  bring  on  a  war  with  Mexico;  others  were 
opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery.  Many  objected  to  the  treaty 
because  the  question  of  annexation  had  sot  been  submitted  to 
the  ordeal  of  public  opinion,  and  it  was  deemed  unwise  to  ratify 
the  treaty  before  the  popular  sentiment  had  been  ascertained. 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY  275 

It  was  freely  declared,  moreover,  that  the  President  had  exceeded 
his  authority  in  making  the  treaty  of  annexation. 

The  presidential  election  of  1844  turned  largely  upon  the  annexa 
tion  of  Texas.  The  Democratic  party  demanded  annexation,  and 
the  success  of  their  candidate  for  President,  James  K. 
Polk,  was  taken  as  an  expression  of  public  opinion  in 
favor  of  annexation.  Therefore,  when  the  Congress 
met,  resolutions  for  the  admission  of  Texas  as  a  state  of  the 
Union  under  certain  conditions  were  passed.  President  Tyler 
signed  them  the  same  day  —  only  three  days  before  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office. 

Texas  admitted  to  the  Union.  1845.  —  The  Congress  of  Texas 
promptly  assented  to  all  conditions  imposed  by  the  United  States. 
A  people's  convention  adopted 
a  state  constitution  (July  4,  <^/£L<-«-*~^  oc^. 

1845)  and  took  the  steps  neces-  — -"^ ^g^r- 

sary  to  become  a  member  of  THE  AuTOGRAPH  OF  PoLK. 

the  American  Union.    Texas, 

the  twenty-eighth  state,  was  admitted  to  the  United  States 
(1845),  after  having  been  an  independent  republic  for  nine  years. 
It  then  had  a  population  of  more  than  two  hundred  thousand.1 
It  was  the  last  slave  state  admitted  to  the  Union. 

Mexico  declares  War.  1846.  —  Soon  after  Texas  had  been  ad 
mitted  to  the  Union,  the  Mexican  minister  at  Washington  notified 
President  Polk  that  Mexico  considered  the  annexation  a  most 
unjust  act  and  a  cause  for  war.  He  then  demanded  his  passports 
and  left  the  country.  A  few  weeks  afterward  -the  American  min 
ister  to  Mexico,  finding  that  he  could  not  transact  business  with 
the  Mexican  government,  returned  to  the  United  States. 

1  In  the  resolutions  for  admission  it  was  provided  that  the  state  of  Texas  was 
to  be  formed  subject  to  the  adjustment  by  the  United  Spates  of  all  questions  of 
boundary  that  might  arise  with  other  governments.  It  was  also  provided  that 
new  states,  "  not  exceeding  four  in  number,"  might  be  formed  out  of  the  original 
state,  with  its  consent,  and  thereafter  admitted  to  the  Union.  The  states  so  ad 
mitted,  lying  south  of  the  so-called  Missouri  Compromise  line,  36°  30',  were  to  have 
slavery  or  not  as  their  people  might  decide ;  and  in  those  states  lying  north  of  the 
line  slavery  was  to  be  forever  prohibited.  In  entering  the  Union,  Texas  ceded  to 
the  general  government  a  narrow  strip  of  land  in  the  "  pan  handle,"  north  of  the 
parallel  of  36°  30'.  This  subsequently  became  a  part  of  Oklahoma. 


276  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

As  an  invasion  of  Texas  was  threatened  by  Mexico,  ships  of 
war  and  an  army,  in  command  of  General  Zachary  Taylor,  were 
sent  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  General  Taylor  estab- 
lished  his  troops  at  Corpus  Christi,  on  the  Nueces 
River.  From  the  Nueces  River  to  the  Rio  Grande,  a 
distance  of  more  than  a  hundred  miles,  the  territory  was  in  dis 
pute.  Both  Texas  and  Mexico  claimed  it.  President  Polk  en 
deavored  to  negotiate  with  the  Mexican  government  for  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  the  trouble,  but  an  envoy  sent  to  the  City  of  Mexico 
could  accomplish  nothing. 

Mexican  troops  began  to  gather  near  the  Rio  Grande  ;  therefore 
the  secretary  of  war  ordered  General  Taylor  to  take  a  position 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  opposite  Matamoros  in  Mexico, 
hostilities  ^ie  troops  were  met  by  Mexican  officials,  who  pro 
tested  against  the  occupation  of  what  they  called  the 
"  soil  of  Mexico."  General  Taylor  paid  no  attention  to  the  protest, 
and  in  a  few  days  it  was  proclaimed  by  Mexico  that,  unless  the 
Americans  retired  from  the  Rio  Grande  within  a  specified  time, 
the  occupation  would  be  considered  an  act  of  war.  The  Americans 
did  not  retire,  and  hostilities  were  begun  (April,  1846).  Shortly 
afterward  battles  were  fought  at  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma, 
in  which  the  Mexican  army  was  defeated.  General  Taylor 
crossed  the  Rio  Grande  and  captured  Matamoros. 

The  Wilmot  Proviso.  1846. — Realizing  that  the  United  States 
would  probably  acquire  territory  from  Mexico,  Representative 
David  Wilmot  of  Pennsylvania  introduced  in  the  Congress  a 
measure  forbidding  slavery  in  any  territory  that  might  be 
gained  from  Mexico,  inasmuch  as  Mexico  (1829)  had  already 
abolished  slavery.  The  discussion  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  as  it 
was  called,  reopened  the  whole  question  of  slavery.  The  measure 
passed  the  House  "but  failed  in  the  Senate.  The  real  effect  of 
the  bill  was  not  expected  either  by  its  author  or  by  its  opponents. 
It  started  a  current  of  thought  in  the  North  that  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  Free-Soil  party,  which  proposed  that  the 
territories  should  be  open  only  to  free  persons. 

General  Taylor  invades  Mexico.  1846-1847.  — For  nearly  two 
years  the  war  with  Mexico  continued.  After  the  American  occu- 


777 tf  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY 


277 


pation  of  Matamoros,  the  Mexican  army,  ten  thousand  in  number, 

fell  back  to  Monterey,  a  strongly  fortified  city.     General  Taylor 

laid  siege  to  the  city.     The  troops  soon  carried  the  outer  works, 

and    then,    step    by 

step,     fought     their 

way    into    the    city 

and     compelled     its 

surrender.      By    the 

close    of    1846     the 

Americans  held  good 

positions       in       the 

enemy's  country. 

In  the  following 
year  General  Taylor 
encountered  a  Mexi 
can  army  of  twenty 
thousand,  c  o  m- 
manded  by  General 
Santa  Anna,  in  the 
mountain  pass  of 
Buena  Vista.  As  the  Mexicans  greatly  outnumbered  the  Ameri 
cans,  Santa  Anna  sent  word  to  Taylor  that  he  had  better  surrender 
without  fighting.  For  an  answer  Taylor  began  battle  immediately. 
All  day  long  until  past  nightfall  the  armies  contended.  At  mid 
night  Santa  Anna  withdrew  his  troops. 

The  Occupation  of  New  Mexico  and  California.  1846.  —  A  body 
of  troops,  the  Army  of  the  West,  was  organized  and  placed  in 
charge  of  General  Stephen  Kearney.  It  was  composed  chiefly  of 
volunteers  from  the  Western  states,  and  had  been  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  New  Mexico  and  California,  which  were  at  that 
time  a  part  of  Mexico.  Kearney  advanced  with  his  army  from 
Fort  Leavenworth  (Kansas),  and  after  a  toilsome  march  of  a 
thousand  miles  arrived  at  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  New  Mexico, 
in  August.  The  Mexican  troops  abandoned  the  city  when  the 
Americans  approached,  and  Santa  Fe  was  taken  without  the 
firing  of  a  gun.  Kearney  left  troops  to  hold  the  territory,  and 
then  started  for  California  with  six  hundred  men. 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 


278 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


THE  FLAG  OF  CALI 
FORNIA. 


But  California  was  already  safe.  When  the  American  settlers 
there  learned  that  war  had  been  declared,  they  began  to  organize, 
fearing  they  might  be  attacked.  A  quick, 
concerted  movement  was  made,  and  the 
Americans  declared  California  an  inde 
pendent  republic.  At  Monterey,  they 
hoisted  a  flag  on  which  had  been  stained 
a  picture  of  a  grizzly  bear ;  and  the  bear  is 
an  emblem  of  California  to  this  day.  Cap 
tain  John  C.  Fremont  and  Commodore 
Stockton  were  both  in  California  at  the  time, 
and  they  supported  the  Americans.  When  General  Kearney 
reached  California,  the  work  cut  out  for  him  had  been  done. 

Scott  captures  Vera  Cruz  and  occupies  the  City  of  Mexico.  1847.  — 
General  Winfield  Scott  began  an  invasion  of  Mexico  in  March, 
1847.  He  landed  near  Vera  Cruz  with  an  army  of  about  twelve 
thousand  men  and  invested  the  city,  which  was  fortified  so 
strongly  that  the  Mexicans  believed  it  impregnable.  The  Ameri- 

can    commander    demanded    the 

surrender  of  the  city,  and  when 
the  demand  was  refused  began  a 
furious  bombardment.  In  a  few 
days  (April  29,  1847)  the  city 
surrendered. 

General  Scott  marched  toward 
the  Mexican  capital.  At  Cerro 
Gordo,  Santa  Anna  with  a  large 
army  gave  battle,  but  was  routed. 
Jalapa  and  Perote  were  captured, 
and  shortly  afterward  La  Puebla 
surrendered  without  resistance. 
The  army,  eleven  thousand  strong, 
made  an  assault  on  Contreras 
/  and  soon  occupied  it.  Then  San 

Antonio  and  the  heights  of  Cherubusco  were  carried  after  desperate 
fighting.  Molino  del  Eey  and  the  castle  of  Chapultepec  were  also 
captured.  Then  the  Mexican  army  abandoned  the  City  of  Mexico, 


280 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


and  (September  14, 1847)  General  Scott  and  his  men  marched  into 
the  city. 

The  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  1848.  —  The  capture  of  the 
Mexican  capital  practically  ended  the  war.  On  February  2, 1848, 
a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  the  Mexican  town  of  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Gila  River 
should  be  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico. 

For  the  land  relinquished  by  Mexico,1  the  United  States  agreed 
to  pay  $15,000,000,  besides  assuming  debts  of  $3,500,000  due  from 
Mexico  to  American  citizens.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1848,  peace  was 
proclaimed  by  President  Polk.  The  military  achievements  of  the 
Mexican  War  reflect  credit  upon  American  soldiers ;  but  the 
diplomacy  that  forced  the  war  upon  Mexico  was  not  commendable. 
Fremont  explores  the  American  f Desert  and  reaches  California.  — 
Long  before  the  Mexican  War,  Lewis  and  Clark  had  explored  the 

region  about  the  headwaters  of  the 
Missouri  and  the  Columbia,2  and 
Captain  Bonneville  had  reached  the 
headwaters  of  the  Colorado.  Public 
interest  centered  about  the  south 
western  country,  and  John  C.  Fre 
mont,  then  a  lieutenant  of  the  regular 
army,  was  ordered  in  1842  to  find 
an  available  route  of  travel  through 
it. 

Fremont  set  out  from  Kansas  City 
(1842),  crossed  the  level  plateau 
still  known  as  the  Plains,  and  made 
his  way  through  the  gap  in  the  Rock- 
ies  now  called  South  Pass.  He 
thence  proceeded  to  the  Great  Ameri 
can  Desert,  which  he  found  to  be  far 

less  formidable  than  had  been  supposed.     He  returned  within  a 
year  and  was  ordered  to  undertake  further  explorations. 

1  The  area  acquired  from  Mexico  comprises  the  present  states  of  California, 
Nevada,  Utah,  and  Arizona,  and  portions  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and 
Wyoming.  See  map  following  page  270.  2  See  page  210. 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY  281 

On  his  second  trip-  Fremont  crossed  to  Great  Salt  Lake,  turned 
northward  to  the  present  site  of  Walla  Walla,  Oregon,  descended 
the  Columbia  River  to  the  Dalles  and  Fort  Vancouver,  and  then 
threaded  his  way  through  the  Willamette  Valley  southward  to 
Sacramento,  California.  He  visited  Slitter's  sawmill  in  Coloma, 
where  afterward  James  W.  Marshall  found  gold.  By  this  time  the 
relations  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  had  become  much 
strained.  Fremont  remained  in  California  until  the  declaration 
of  war  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  win  California  for  the  United 
States.  He  was  well  named  the  "  Pathfinder." 

Taylor  elected  President.  1848. —  In  the  presidential  election 
of  1848,  the  Free-Soil  party,  an  organization  composed  largely 
of  anti-slavery  Whigs  and  Democrats,  made  itself  felt.  The 
formation  of  the  new  party  came  about  because  the  annexation 
of  Texas  threatened  in  time  to  add  several  slave  states  to  the 
Union.  This  would  break  the  equality  between  the  slave  and 
free  states,  which  had  thus  far  been  preserved  in  the  Senate. 
In  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  representation  is  in  pro 
portion  to  the  population  of  the  various  states,  the  equality  had 
long  since  been  lost,  because  the  free  states  had  grown  in  popula 
tion  more  rapidly  than  the  slave  states.  The  Free-Soil  candidate 
was  ex-President  Van  Buren ;  the  Democratic  candidate  was  Lewis 
Cass  of  Michigan.  In  the  cam 
paign  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm 

was  shown   for  General   Zachary    // 

m      i       i  xv     TTTi-  •  j  •  i   t.  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  TAYLOR. 

Taylor,1  the  Whig  candidate.     On 

account  of  his  services  in  the  Mexican  War  he  was  a  favorite, 
and  was  elected.     This  brought  the  Whigs  again  into  power. 

The  Nicaragua  Ship  Canal  and  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty.     1849.  — 
In  April,  1849,  an  agreement  known  as  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  '2 

1  ZACHARY  TAYLOR  (1784-1850)  was  born  in  Orange  County,  Virginia.    Enter 
ing  the  army  as  first  lieutenant  in  1808,  he  began  his  long  and  triumphant  career 
as  a  soldier.    He  fought  in  the  War  of  1812,  was  assigned  to  the  chief  command  of 
Florida  (1838),  and  later  of  the  Southwest,  and  fought  in  the  Mexican  War.    His 
soldiers  called  him  "Old  Rough  and  Ready,"  and  it  was  by  this  name  that  he 
was  hailed  enthusiastically  by  all  his  countrymen.     In  1849  he  became  the  twelfth 
President. 

2  The  treaty  was  several  times  withdrawn  for  amendment,  and  it  was  subse- 


282 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


was  negotiated  in  Washington  by  John  M.  Clayton,  secretary  of 
state,  and  Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  British  minister  to  the  United 
States.  The  treaty  related  to  a  proposed  ship  canal  across 
Nicaragua,  in  Central  America,  which  should  connect  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific  oceans.  Neither  party  to  the  treaty  was  to 
obtain  exclusive  control  of  the  canal,  erect  fortifications  com 
manding  the  same,  or  exercise  dominion  in  Central  America. 
The  project  was  dropped,  however,  for  the  time  being.  After 
the  Spanish- American  War  in  1898,  it  became  evident  that  the 
United  States  ought  to  undertake  the  construction  of  an  inter- 
oceanic  canal. 

Gold  in  California.     1848.  —  The  discovery  of  gold  at  Coloma, 
in  the  foothills  of  the  Sierras,  by  James  W.  Marshall,  caused 

throngs    of    people 
to  emigrate  to  that 

region-1 1)uring  the 

first  year  of  the 
gold  discovery  mil 
lions  of  dollars  of 
the  precious  metal 
were  obtained,  and 
year  by  year,  to  the 
present  time,  there 
has  been  a  large 
production.  In  one 
year  (1852)  the  gold 
product  was  valued 
at  $81, 000,000.  The 
rush  of  gold  seekers 
increased  the  population,  not  only  of  California,  but  of  other 
Pacific  coast  territory  as  well.  In  1848  San  Francisco  was  a 
settlement  of  about  four  hundred  people ;  in  1850  it  had  thirty 


" FORTY-NINERS"  EXAMINING  SAND  IN  SEARCH  OF 
GOLD. 


quently  learned  that  the  treaty  which  the  Senate  ratified  was  not  the  form  agreed 
upon  by  the  commissioners. 

1  Gold  had  been  obtained  in  southern  California  in  1839.  Marshall's  discovery 
at  Sutter's  mill,  however,  was  the  event  that  led  to  the  emigration  to  California. 
Marshall  was  afterward  pensioned  by  the  state.  He  died  in  1893. 


THE  EXPANSION   OF  SLAVERY  283 

thousand,  and  in  the  whole  Pacific  region  there  was  a  population 
of  nearly  two  hundred  thousand. 

The  Death   of    President   Taylor.     1849.  —  On   July   29,   1849, 
President   Taylor   died    suddenly 
in    the    Executive     Mansion     at 
Washington.     He  had  been  Pres- 
ident    only    one    year    and    four       THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  FILLMORE. 

months.  Vice-President  Fillmore1  immediately  assumed  the 
office  of  chief  executive. 

The  Slavery  Question  Again.  —  The  doctrine  of  popular  sover 
eignty  was  brought  forward  in  1850  by  Lewis  Cass,  in  a  speech 
in  the  Senate.  The  doctrine,  in  effect,  was  that  the 

Congress    should    have   nothing   further   to   do   with    p°Pular 

sovereignty 
slavery  in  the  territories,  but  should  leave  the  people 

of  each  territory  to  decide  whether  or  not  they  should  have 
slaves.  The  adoption  of  such  a  plan,  of  course,  would  nullify 
the  Missouri  Compromise. 

When  the  Congress  attempted  to  organize  New  Mexico  as  a 
territory,  the  antislavery  members  had  demanded  that  the  Wil- 
mot  Proviso  prohibiting  slavery  should  be  added  to  the  act,  while 
the  advocates  of  slavery  extension  had  strenuously  insisted  that 
the  territory  should  be  allowed  to  have  popular  sovereignty. 

Among  the  matters  which  produced   political  excitement  was 
the  application  of  California,  then  under  a  government  organized 
by  the  settlers    themselves,  for  authority  to  become     The 
a  state,  in  1850.      The  Northern  states  favored  the     balance  in 
application,  but  in  the  South  there  was  a  determined    the  Senate 
opposition  to  it,  because  California,  having  adopted  a  constitution 
forbidding  slavery,  would  become  a  free  state.      Following  the 
admission  of  Texas,  two  free  states  had  come  into  the  Union, 
Iowa  in  1846  and  Wisconsin  in  1848.     There  were  then  thirty 
states  in  the  Union,  —  fifteen  free  states  and  fifteen  slave  states, 


1  MILLARD  FILLMORE  (1800-1874)  was  a  native  of  Cayuga  County,  New  York. 
He  began  his  practice  of  the  law  in  Aurora,  New  York.  He  was  chosen  member 
of  the  Congress,  comptroller  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  in  1848  was  elected  Vice- 
President.  On  the  death  of  President  Taylor  he  became  the  thirteenth  President. 
He  made  Daniel  Webster  his  secretary  of  state. 


284  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

—  and  therefore  the  North  and  the  South  were  equally  repre 
sented  in  the  Senate.  This  equilibrium  had  been  maintained  for 
many  years,  and  it  was  argued  that  no  other  free  state  should  be 
admitted  until  there  was  a  chance  to  admit  a  slave  state  also. 

Another  matter  which  was  discussed  in  a  passionate  manner 
was  a  demand  from  the  North  that  slavery  should  be  abolished 
Slavery  in  in  ^ne  District  of  Columbia,  the  seat  of  the  national 
the  District  government.  It  was  argued  that,  although  the  Con- 
of  Columbia  gregs  might  not  have  the  constitutional  right  to  inter 
fere  with  slavery  in  a  state,  it  certainly  had  the  right  to  abolish 
it  in  the  district  over  which  it  had  sole  control.  The  abolition 
ists  were  constantly  gaining  in  power.  They  wanted  slavery 
prohibited  in  all  territories  and  in  the  states  as  well,  if  that  were 
possible.  They  were  trying  to  create  sentiment  against  slavery 
throughout  the  country  and  sent  their  pamphlets  broadcast  over 
both  South  and  North. 

Still  another  matter  of  controversy  was  the  proposal  to  enact 
a  more  stringent  fugitive-slave  law.  The  slaveholders 

had  found  that  the  law  °f  179'3  l  gave  them  V6ry  little 
protection,   and    they    were   demanding   a  new   law. 

Many  slaves  escaped  from  the  South  to  the  free  states,  and  it 
was  hard  to  get  them  back  again. 

The  Omnibus  Bill.  1850.  —  In  the  congressional  debates  upon 
the  questions  touching  slavery  there  was  much  angry  feeling,  and 
threats  of  secession  from  the  Union  were  frequently  made  by  the 
Southern  congressmen.  To  aid  in  quieting  the  threatening  storm, 
Henry  Clay,  who  had  retired  from  public  life,  returned  to  the 
Senate  and  devoted  himself  to  the  restoration  of  harmony.  He 
advocated  concessions  arid  patience,  and  finally  introduced  a 
measure  which  he  believed  would  harmonize  the  serious  differ 
ences  between  the  two  sections. 

The  Clay  compromise  consisted  of  a  series  of  bills  for  various 

things,  which  were   jointly  known   as   the  Omnibus 
Cromfse°m"    Bil1'     The  comPromise  was  strongly  opposed  at  first, 

and  it  took  many  weeks  of  debate  and  skillful  manage 
ment  before  an  agreement  was  reached.   Finally  it  was  found  neces- 

i  See  page  198. 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY  285 

sary  to  act  upon  each  of  the  bills  separately  ;  but  by  the  last  of 
September,  1850,  the  whole  measure  was  passed  by  the  Congress. 
It  has  been  called  the  Clay  Compromise  of  1850.  It  was  accept 
able  to  a  large  majority  of  the  people,  who  believed  that  it  would 
prevent  disunion.  The  measure  provided  — 

The  admission  of  California  to  the  Union  as  a  free  state. 

The  organization  of  the  remainder  of  the  Mexican  cession  into  the 

territories  of  Utah  and  New  Mexico,  without  restriction  as 

to  slavery. 

The  abolition  of  trade  in  slaves,  but  not  of  slavery,  in  the  District 

of  Columbia. 
The  payment  of  $10,000,000  to  Texas  for  territory  ceded  to  the 

Federal  government.1 
A  more  stringent  fugitive-slave  law. 

The  Fugitive-Slave  Law.  1850.  —  The  Fugitive-Slave  Law  (1850) 
gave  to  slaveholders  the  right  to  pursue  fugitive  slaves  into  the 
free  states,  just  as  the  law  of  1793  had  done  ;  but  in  addition  it 
imposed  a  fine  upon  a  marshal  or  other  officer  who  refused  to 
comply  with  the  law,  and  also  made  him  liable  for  the  value  of 
the  slaves  escaping  from  his  custody.  To  obstruct  the  arrest  of  a 
slave  or  to  attempt  to  rescue  him  from  an  officer  was  punishable 
by  fine  and  imprisonment.  These  and  other  stringent  provisions 
of  the  law  made  it  very  obnoxious  to  the  Northern  people.  They 
fiercely  denounced  it,  and  did  all  they  could  to  evade  it.  In 
some  states  laws  called  personal  liberty  bills  were  passed  in 
order  to  give  freedom  to  fugitive  slaves.2 

The  Lopez  Expedition.  1849-1851.  —  In  1851  General  Lopez,  a 
Cuban,  organized  in  the  United  States  an  expedition  to  aid  the 
Cubans  in  a  revolt  against  Spain.  A  few  days  after  landing 
in  Cuba  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  members  of  the  expedition, 
who  were  mostly  Americans,  were  attacked  by  a  body  of  Spanish 
troops,  and  a  bloody  and  disastrous  conflict  ensued.  Lopez  and 
about  fifty  of  his  followers  succeeded  in  escaping  to  the  coast, 

1  Texas  had  claimed  as  her  own  territory  all  that  part  of  New  Mexico  lying 
east  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

2  These  personal  liherty  bills  were  regarded  hy  the  South  as  a  violation  of  the 
Constitution,  Article  IV,  Section  2. 


286  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

where  they  obtained  boats  and  escaped  to  sea.  They  were  inter 
cepted,  however,  by  a  Spanish  warship,  taken  to  Havana,  tried 
by  a  military  court,  and  speedily  executed. 

There  was  a  feeling  in  Europe  that  the  United  States  had 
meditated  the  annexation  of  Cuba  at  an  early  day.  This  feeling 
The  proposed  was  undoubtedly  caused  by  the  Lopez  expedition, 
annexation  which  had  been  aided  by  Southern  political  leaders, 
and  by  the  apparent  desire  in  the  Southern  states  for 
the  possession  of  Cuba.  England  and  France  therefore  proposed 
a  "  Tripartite  treaty  "  with  the  United  States,  in  which  the  three 
contracting  parties  should  pledge  themselves  by  the  treaty  to  make 
no  attempt  to  acquire  Cuba.  President  Fillmore  declined  to  join 
with  England  and  France  in  any  such  treaty,  but  assured  those 
powers  that  the  American  government  "  entertained  no  designs 
against  Cuba,  but,  on  the  contrary,  should  regard  its  incorporation 
into  the  Union  as  fraught  with  peril." 

Pierce  elected  President.  1852.  —  In  the  campaign  preceding 
the  election  of  1852,  both  the  Whigs  and  the  Democrats  tried  to 
ignore  the  slavery  question  in  the  interests  of  peace.  The  ques 
tion  could  not  be  dropped,  however,  and  many  voters  united  with 
the  Free  Soil  party,  whose  candidate  was  John  P.  Hale  of  New 

Hampshire.      The   Whigs   nomi- 
nated    General    Winfield    Scott. 

The  Free  Soil  PartJ  drew  so 

THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  PIERCE.  mai^  votes  from  the  Whigs  that 

Franklin  Pierce,1  the  Democratic 

candidate,  was  elected.  He  carried  every  state  except  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Massachusetts,  and  Vermont. 

The  Know  Nothings.  1852.  —  A  secret  political  party,  named  the 
Native  American  party,  but  commonly  called  the  Know  Noth 
ings,  came  into  being  in  1852.  The  purpose  of  the  new  party 

i  FRANKLIN  PIERCE  (1804-1869)  was  born  at  Hillsborough,  New  Hampshire. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College.  He  studied  at  the  law  school  in  North 
ampton,  Massachusetts,  and  in  1827  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  His  political  in 
stincts  soon  declared  themselves ;  he  was  first  elected  member  of  the  Congress  from 
New  Hampshire  and  then  United  States  senator.  Later  he  played  a  conspicuous 
part  as  a  general  in  the  Mexican  War.  In  1853  he  became  the  fourteenth  Presi 
dent. 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY  287 

was  to  exclude  foreign-born  persons  and  Roman  Catholics  from 
the  city,  state,  and  national  offices,  to  keep  the  Bible  in  public 
schools,  and  to  prevent  foreigners  who  had  not  resided  long 
enough  in  the  United  States  from  becoming  citizens.1  For  a  year 
the  party  had  a  considerable  following,  but  it  very  soon  fell  into 
disrepute. 

The  Gadsden  Purchase.  1853.  —  In  the  first  year  of  President 
Pierce's  administration,  there  was  trouble  with  Mexico  in  refer 
ence  to  the  Mesilla  Valley,  south  of  the  Gila  River,  which  the 
United  States  had  claimed  as  a  part  of  country  purchased  in 
1848.  Mexico  had  resisted  the  claim,  and  sent  troops  to  occupy 
the  valley.  After  lengthy  negotiations,  General  James  Gadsden, 
the  American  minister  to  Mexico,  succeeded  in  purchasing  the 
disputed  region  for  $10,000,000.  This  region  comprises  the 
southern  parts  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.  1854.  —  In.  1854  a  bill  was  offered 
in  the  Senate  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois,  a  conservative 
Democrat,  for  the  organization  of  two  territories  from  the  area 
now  included  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  No  one  objected  to  the 
organization  of  the  territories ;  but  excitement  was  caused  by  a 
clause  in  the  bill  which  practically  repealed  the  Missouri  Com 
promise,  by  submitting  the  question  of  slavery  to  the  people  of 
those  territories  which  were  north  of  the  compromise  line.2 

The  intent  of  the  bill,  it  was  claimed,  was  not  to  establish 
slavery  by  law  in  any  territory,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but 
to  leave  the  people  free  to  regulate  their  affairs  in  their  own  way. 
This  was  in  accord  with  the  idea  of  popular  sovereignty. 

The  bill  was  debated  for  several  months,  with  a  great  deal  of 
earnestness.  There  was  bitter  feeling  among  the  antislavery 
element  of  the  North,  and  Douglas  was  severely  criticised  for 
advocating  a  measure  which  meant  the  repeal  of  the  compromise 
line.  Many  of  the  Northern  Democrats  and  Whigs  who  had 
never  expressed  antislavery  opinions  were  also  opposed  to  the 

1  All  members  of  the  party  took  an  oath  to  vote  for  no  candidate  for  office 
who  was  not  a  native  American  and  a  Protestant.    The  name  "  Know  Nothing" 
had  been  given  to  it  because  its  members  usually  said,  when  asked  about  the 
organization,  "  I  know  nothing." 

2  See  page  251. 


288  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

measure.  But  despite  all  opposition,  the  bill  passed  both  houses 
of  the  Congress  by  large  majorities,  and  was  signed  by  President 
Pierce  (May  30,  1854).  The  passage  of  the  bill  and  the  annul 
ment  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  caused  great  rejoicing  among 
the  people  of  the  Southern  states ;  for  in  the  new  territories  of 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  they  saw  the  opportunity  for  the  growth 
of  the  slave  power. 

The  Struggle  in  Kansas.  1854-1861.  —  The  attempt  to  carry 
slavery  into  Kansas  was  the  beginning  of  a  fierce  and  bloody 
struggle.  Emigrants  from  Missouri  poured  into  Kansas,  and 
staked  out  land  claims.  At  the  same  time  an  emigrant  aid 
society,  formed  in  the  North,  also  sent  thither  many  men.  Few 
of  either  party,  however,  were  genuine  settlers.  Both  sides  made 
pretense  to  keep  within  the  law,  but  neither  party  hesitated 
to  use  violence,  whether  lawful  or  not.  For  the  five  years  pre 
ceding  1859,  this  sort  of  work  went  on ;  and  such  wretched  work 
was  done  there  that  the  territory,  received  the  name  of  Bleeding 
Kansas.  The  proslavery  men  were  in  possession  of  that  part 
of  the  territory  along  the  Missouri  River ;  the  Free  Soilers  were  in 
the  valley  of  the  Kaw,  or  Kansas  River. 

When  the  election  for  a  legislature  was  held  (1855);  a  small 
army  of  men  crossed  from  Missouri,  voted,  and  returned  home ; 
as  a  result,  nearly  every  member  of  the  legislature  was 
elections1  a  ProslaveiT  man.  The  legislature  met  and  adopted 
slave  laws.  The  Free  Soilers,  however,  repudiated 
these  proceedings,  called  a  meeting  at  Topeka,  and  adopted  a 
free-soil  constitution.  This  was  submitted  to  a  popular  vote  and 
was  adopted.  The  proslavery  party  considered  the  second  election 
illegal  and  refused  to  vote.  Thus  there  were  two  rival  govern 
ments,  and  a  reign  of  bloodshed  continued  until  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  War.  Which  of  the  two  was  the  lawful  election  was  a 
question  that  was  not  decided.1 

The  Republican  Party.  —  After  the  election  of  1852  the 
Whig  party  had  dissolved,  and  a  new  political  organization 

1  It  was  during  this  period  that  John  Brown  came  first  into  notice.  During 
the  struggle,  Brown  and  his  men  were  responsible  for  not  a  little  bloodshed. 
Their  motive  was  an  intense  hatred  of  slavery.  See  page  291. 


«  THE  EXPANSION   OF  SLAVERY  289 

grew  out  of  the  public  feeling  caused  by  the  passage  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  and  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri .  Com 
promise.  It  was  named  the  Republican  party,  and  included 
those  members  of  the  other  parties  who  were  antislavery  in 
sentiment.  Many  Whigs  united"  themselves  with  the  Republi 
cans  ;  the  Free  Soil  party  was  dissolved,  and  most  of  its  members 
became  a  part  of  the  new  organization ;  and  the  abolitionists  con 
tributed  a  small  but  vigorous  element  to  the  new  party.  The 
Republicans  opposed  the  extension  of  slavery ;  they  favored  a 
protective  tariff  and  a  loose  construction  of  the  Constitution. 

Buchanan  elected  President.  1856.  —  The  new  Republican  party 
held  its  first  national  convention  at  Philadelphia  in  June,  1856, 
and  nominated  John  C.  Fremont  of  California  for  President.  The 
platform  denied  that  the  Congress  had  authority  to  give  legal 
existence  to  slavery  in  any  territory  of  the  United  States. 
The  Democratic  candidates  in  the  presidential  election  of  1856 
were  James  Buchanan  of  Penn 
sylvania  for  President,  and 

John  C.  Breckinridge  of  Ken- 

i       £      T7--      -r>       -j  mu  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  BUCHANAN. 

tucky  for  Vice-President.     The 

election  was  earnestly  contested,  and  aroused  great  popular  en 
thusiasm.  Buchanan1  and  Breckinridge  were  elected. 

The  Dred  Scott  Decision.  1857.  —  A  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  on  March  6,  1857,  in  reference  to 
the  case  of  Dred  Scott,  a  negro  slave  of  Missouri,  added  to  the 
sectional  bitterness  then  prevailing. 

Scott  had  been  taken  by  his  master  to  Illinois,  and  later  to 
the  Northwest.  Upon  his  return  to  Missouri,  he  began  suit  in 
a  state  court  for  his  freedom,  claiming  that  his  temporary  resi 
dence  on  free  soil  had  made  him  a  free  man.  The  case  finally 
reached  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  decision 
of  this  court,  as  declared  by  Chief  Justice  Taney,  was  that  Scott, 

1  JAMES  BUCHANAN  (1791-1868)  was  born  at  Stony  Batter,  Franklin  County, 
Pennsylvania.  He  served  as  member  of  the  Congress,  minister  to  Russia  and  to 
England,  United  States  senator,  and  secretary  of  state.  In  18f>7  he  was  elected  the 
fifteenth  President.  His  administration,  falling  as  it  did  on  the  eve  of  the  Civil 
War  and  vacillating  in  its  dealings  with  the  seceders,  was  severely  criticised.  He 
published  a  defense  of  his  administration. 


290  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

being  a  negro,  was  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  there 
fore  could  not  bring  suit  for  any  purpose  in  a  Federal  court.  It 
was  declared  that  — 

Negroes,  whether  free  or  slaves,  could  not  become  citizens  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Missouri  Compromise  and  all  other  acts  passed  by  the  Con 
gress  prohibiting  slavery  in  any  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  were  unconstitutional,  and  therefore  null  and  void. 

The  question  of  Scott's  freedom  was  a  matter  for  the  Missouri 
courts  to  decide. 

The  Dred  Scott  decision  was  very  gratifying  to  the  Southerners, 
who  regarded  it  as  settling  the  contention  about  slavery  in  the 
territories.  It  greatly  incensed  the  antislavery  people  of  the 
North,  who  believed  that  the  decision  was  unjust  and  were  un 
willing  to  abide  by  it. 

The  Lincoln  and  Douglas  Debates.  1858.  —  The  questions  con 
nected  with  the  slavery  issues  were  discussed  in  seven  joint  de 
bates  between  the  two  candidates  for  the  senatorship  in  Illinois, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  Douglas  defended 
popular  sovereignty,  asserting  that  the  settlers  in  a  territory  had 
the  right  to  allow  or  prohibit  slavery  in  that  territory.  Lincoln 
argued  that,  regardless  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  the  Congress 
had  the  right  to  legislate  concerning  slavery  in  a  territory,  although 
it  could  not  interfere  with  slavery  in  a  state.  Douglas  was  elected 
senator,  but  Lincoln  won  the  prominence  that  made  him  the  leader 
of  the  Republican  party. 

The  Bitterness  of  Slavery  Agitation.  —  Throughout  the  adminis 
tration  of  President  Buchanan  .the  slavery  question  kept  the 
country  continually  in  a  state  of  turmoil.  There  were  many 
passionate  controversies  in  the  Congress  and  in  the  state  con 
ventions.  The  abolitionists  strenuously  urged  that  slavery  be 
abolished.  Between  the  North  and  the  South  there  had  de 
veloped  a  sectional  bitterness  which  plainly  indicated  the  prob 
ability  of  disunion.  The  Southern  people  discussed  secession 
openly  and  in  strong  language.  They  claimed  that  any  state 
had  the  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  whenever  it  pleased. 
Unless  the  North  should  cease  to  interfere  with  slavery,  it  was 


THE  EXPANSION   OF  SLAVERY 


291 


declared  that  the  South  would  secede  and  set  up  an  independent 
government. 

John  Brown's  Raid.  1859.  —  The  political  excitement  was 
immensely  increased  by  a  raid  made  into  Virginia  by  John 
Brown,  an  abolitionist.  Brown  was  a  resident  of  New  York, 
who  had  been  for  some  time  in  Kansas  aiding  the  free-soil 
people  in  their  efforts  to  make  an  antislavery  state.  In  the 
fall  of  1859,  with  a 
force  of  only  twenty- 
two  men,  he  entered 
the  village  of  Har 
pers  Ferry  (West 
Virginia),  seized  the 

t 

r 


United  States  Ar 
senal,  and  endeavored 
to  incite  the  slaves  in 
that  region  to  take 
arms  and  begin  an 
insurrection. 


THE  ARSENAL  AT  HARPERS  FERRY. 


The  slaves  would  not  join  Brown's  party,  and  the  audacious 
affair  ended  in  the  capture  of  the  raiders.  Brown  was  tried, 
convicted,  and  hanged  for  treason  by  the  Virginia  authorities. 
Brown's  raid  set  the  whole  country  aflame  with  discord.  It  led 
the  South  to  believe  that  in  the  North  there  had  been  a  general 
plan  to  create  a  slave  insurrection,  and  that  the  only  safety 
was  in  secession  and  independence. 

Lincoln  elected  President.  1860.  —  For  the  presidential  election 
of  18GO,  the  Republican  party  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  1  of 

i  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  (1801M865)  was  a  native  of  Hardin  County,  Kentucky. 
His  parents  were  plain,  unlearned,  hardworking  people,  and  his  early  home 
was  a  log  cabin.  He  received  only  one  year's  regular  schooling.  Beyond  this, 
his  teachers  were  the  Bible,  Jisop's  Fables,  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  whatever 
other  books  he  could  obtain.  He  early  left  his  father's  home,  and  found  employ 
ment  as  farm  laborer,  salesman,  merchant,  and  surveyor.  In  1837  he  began  the 
practice  of  law  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  was  elected  from  Illinois  as  a  rep 
resentative  to  the  Congress.  Later,  as  candidate  for  United  States  senator,  he 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  country  by  his  vigorous  stand  against  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery;  and  in  1860  he  was  elected  the  sixteenth  President.  Thenceforth 
the  history  of  his  life  is  one  with  that  of  the  Civil  War.  He  had  entered  upon 


292  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Illinois.  The  Democrats  had  two  presidential  tickets  as  the 
result  of  a  disagreement  in  the  nominating  convention.  The 
delegates  from  the  North,  believing  in  popular  sovereignty, 
nominated  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  while  the  Southern  Democrats 
chose  John  C.  Breckinridge  of  Kentucky  to  champion  their  views 
on  the  slavery  question.1  The  Constitutional  Union  party  (before 
known  as  the  National  American  party)  nominated  John  Bell  of 
Tennessee.  After  an  exciting  campaign  the  election  resulted  in  a 
victory  for  the  Republicans.  They  carried  every  Northern  state 
except  New  Jersey.  President  Lincoln  and  Vice-President  Ham- 
lin  were  sworn  into  office,  and  the  Republican  party  entered  into 
control  of  the  national  government,  which  it  retained  for  twenty- 
four  years. 

The  platform  of  the  Republican  party  held  that  — 

The  decision  of   the  Supreme  Court  concerning  the  Dred  Scott 

case  should  be  repudiated. 
Kansas  should  enter  the  Union  as  a  free  state,  and  that  slavery 

should  be  excluded  from  all  the  territories. 
It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  Republican  party  to  interfere  with 

slavery  in  the  slave  states. 

The  platform  of  the  Southern  faction  of  the  Democratic  party 
was  equally  radical.  It  held  that  — 

Neither  the  Congress  nor  the  legislature  of  a  territory  had  the 
power  to  abolish  slavery  in  any  territory. 

The  government  was  bound  to  protect  slavery  wherever  its  author 
ity  extended. 

Cuba  should  be  acquired  by  the  United  States. 

Both  platforms  called  for  a  railway  to  the  Pacific  coast  of  the 
United  States. 

his  second  term  as  President,  and  the  war  was  almost  at  an  end,  when,  in 
Ford's  Theater,  Washington,  he  was  assassinated  by  John  Wilkes  Booth.  He  is 
universally  honored  as  one  of  the  foremost  American  leaders. 

1  These  views  had  been  presented  in  the  Senate  by  Jefferson  Davis  of  Mississippi 
in  February,  1860.  His  resolutions  declared  that  each  state  in  the  Federal  Union 
had  the  full  right  to  manage  its  own  home  affairs,  that  slavery  was  recognized 
and  protected  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  that  the  Congress  had  no  right 
to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories.  The  resolutions  were  adopted  (May  25, 
1860). 


THE  EXPANSION   OF  SLAVERY  293 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS 

Conditions  of  Living  in  1840.  —  Before  the  year  1840  there  were 
very  few  miles  of  steam  railway  in  the  United  States ;  neither 
was  there  a  telegraph,  a  sewing  machine,  a  reaper,  a  rubber,  shoe, 
a  good  friction  match,  a  postage  stamp,  a  street  car,  a  sleeping 
coach,  nor  a  coal-oil  lamp.  For  illuminating  purposes  gas  was 
used  in  New  York  and  several  of  the  larger  cities ;  people  living 
in  the  larger  towns  lighted  their  houses  with  whale  oil  or  with 
"camphene  "  —  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  turpentine  ;  in  the  coun 
try  tallow  "  dips  "  were  generally  employed,  inasmuch  as  a  good 
candle  was  unknown.  There  were  crude  stoves  for  burning  coal, 
but  most  people  burned  wood  in  box  stoves  or  in  fireplaces.  In 
1840  Burke  and  Adams  opened  an  express  service  between  New 
York  and  Boston  by  way  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts  ;  at  first 
two  "  carpet  bags  "  were  sufficient  for  the  business.  In  the  cities 
there  were  a  few  paved  streets  and  sidewalks,  but  there  were 
scarcely  a  dozen  miles  of  well-paved  country  road  in  the  whole 
United  States. 

Labor.  —  The  day  laborer,  who  may  now  live  almost  as  comfort 
ably  as  did  a  king  two  hundred  years  ago,  had  a  rather  hard  time 
before  1850.  A  day's  work  was  from  "  sun  to  sun  " ;  that  is,  from 
sunrise  to  sunset.  A  dollar  a  day  was  considered  very  fair  wages 
for  skilled  labor;  ten  dollars  a  month  with  board  and  lodging 
was  a  very  common  price  for  farm  labor.  It  was  not  until  1830 
that  a  ten-hour  working  day  was  adopted.  It  was  adopted  first 
in  Baltimore ;  afterward  ten  hours  was  ordered  by  President  Van 
Buren  (1840)  to  be  a  day's  work  in  the  various  government  estab 
lishments.  The  introduction  of  machinery  in  the  various  fields 
of  labor  tended  at  first  to  throw  workmen  out  of  employment ; 
this,  however,  was  followed  by  a  readjustment  that  not  only  enor 
mously  increased  old  fields  of  labor,  but  created  new  ones. 

The  Electric  Telegraph.  —  In  1836  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  con 
structed  a  working  model  of  a  magneto-electric  telegraph  machine. 
During  the  following  ten  years,  he  and  his  associate,  Alfred  Vail, 
improved  the  instrument,  finally  producing  an  instrument  that  is 
substantially  the  same  in  principle  as  that  used  to-day.  The  first 


294 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN   NATION 


The  ocean 
cables 


f-_ 


operator  was  William  *B.  Lascell. 

The  first  working  line  was  opened 

between  Baltimore  and  Washing 

ton    in    1844  ;    in    the    following 

year   a  line  was  opened  between 

Jersey  City  and  Philadelphia,  the 

messages  being  carried  across  the 

river  to  New  York.    The  Western 

Union    Telegraph    Company    was 

organized  in  1856. 

In  1854  Cyrus  W.  Field  of  New 

York  City  began  to  direct  the 
work  of  laying  a  tele- 
graph  cable  under  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  from 

Newfoundland  to  Ireland.     The  cable  was  laid  in  1857  ;  one  or 

two   messages   were   sent,  and   then   the   line    ceased    to    work. 

Another  cable  was  laid  in  the 
following  year,  but  it  failed  to 
transmit  messages  after  about  a 
month  of  use.  In  1866  cable 
laying  was  made  successful,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  century  two 
companies  were  operating  about 
twenty  cable  wires  between  the 
United  States  arid  Europe. 

Ocean  Steamship  Navigation.  — 
We  have  seen  that  the  first  steam 
ship  to  cross  the  ocean,  the  Savan 
nah  in  1819,  did  not  prove  a 
successful  undertaking.  Eighteen 
years  afterward  (1837)  the  Sirius 
and  the  Great  Western,  English 
steamships  using  coal  for  fuel, 
made  successful  trips  between 

Liverpool  and  New  York.     The  Cunard  Line  was  put  into  opera 

tion  in  1839.     At  first  it  was  assisted  by  money  from  the  English 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY 


295 


government  in  order  to  meet  the  increased  expense  of  operating 
its  vessels  by  steam.  The  Collins  Line,  the  first  successful 
American  enterprise,  was  founded  in  1850,  and  between  these  two 
lines  the  rivalry  became  so  strong  that  great  improvements  in 
steamship  building  resulted.  The  time  between  New  York  and 
Liverpool  was  reduced  from  three  weeks  to  less  than  two.  The 
substitution  of  the  propeller  for  the  paddle  wheel  was  a  great 
improvement ;  the  use  of  steel  instead  of  iron  in  the  boilers  was  a 
still  greater  improvement.  As  a  result  of  the  many  changes  in 
steamship  construction,  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  which  a  century  ago 
was  six  weeks  wide,  is  now  less  than  six  days  wide. 

Food  Production  and  its  Readjustments.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century  most  of  the  food-stuffs  used  in  the  region  east 
of  the  Appalachian    Mountains   were  grown  in  that     wheat 
region  and  such  was  the  condition   of   affairs   until     growing  in 
about  1840.    Even  in  the  gravelly  uplands  of  the  New     the  East 
England  plateau  not  a  little  wheat  was  grown  on  the  small  farms. 
The  wheat  was  cut  usually  by  a  "  cradle,"  bound  by  hand,  and 
threshed  out  by  means 
of  a  flail.     Except  in 
Pennsylvania  and 
some     of    the     Appa 
lachian     valleys,    the 
crop  was  light,  rarely 
exceeding    twenty 
bushels  per  acre.  Much 
of  the  flour  was  then 
made  at  Wilmington, 
Delaware,    and    Balti 
more,    and    the    price 
per  barrel  varied  from 
$10  to  $12. 

The    completion    of 
the  Erie  Canal 1  opened 

the  Eastern  markets  to  the  prairies  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  It 
was  immediately  apparent  that  wheat  could  be  grown  far  more 

I  See  page  241. 


THE  OLD  WAY  OF  CRADLING  WHEAT. 


296 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


he    c  or- 
mick  reaper 


successfully  in  the  prairie  lands  than  on  the  small  farms  of  the 
East.  On  the  prairie  farms,  however,  harvesting  the  large  crops 
with  the  "  cradle  "  was  out  of  the  question.  It  was 

^o^  un^j_  1841  that  McCormick  was  able  to  persuade  a 

± 
Cincinnati  firm  to  make  the  reaper  that  he  had  in 

vented  some  years  before.  Once  in  use,  however,  the  reaper 
quickly  demonstrated  its  value,  and  to-day  nearly  a  quarter  cf 
a  million  harvesting  machines  are  sold  yearly. 

One  result  of  the  invention  of  the  reaper  was  to  increase  notably 
the  emigration  to  the  wheat-growing  regions  of  the  West.  Another 
The  Western  resu^  was  the  transfer  of  the  flour-making  industry, 
wheat  first  to  Rochester,  New  York,  and  then  to  cities  farther 

industry  west.  A  still  more  important  matter  was  the  building 
of  many  thousand  miles  of  railway  within  the  region  of  possible 
wheat  growth.  The  most  notable  result  of  all,  however,  was 


V--     '    ' 

•&^-    v     ;    ""-'/  ^plffl 

vm  \,r— ^sprj   nll|    '^fo^-y§Fl 
S|a   V         ;  Jif  ^/l^f"tr^^L^ 

>lk ;      /  111     IP  p^r^-c 


Wheat  area  shown  thus    F'-V!:.:.':| 


WHERE  AVHEAT  is  GROWN  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  change  that  came  in  the  methods  of  planting  and  harvesting 
the  grain  crops. 

The  low  price  at  which  the  farmer  could  purchase  land  encour 
aged  the  idea  of  large  instead  of  small  farms  ;  moreover,  the  rich 


THE  EXPANSION  OF  SLAVERY  297 

soil  yielded  crops  far  greater  than  had  been  produced  in  the  East. 
These  geographic  conditions  compelled  the  farmer  to  employ  more 
speedy  means  of  planting  and  harvesting,  and  so  the  combination 
reaper,  binder,  and  threshing  machine  came  into  use.  In  time, 


A  MODERN  MACHINE  IN  THE  WHEAT  FIELD. 
This  single  machine  cuts,  threshes,  winnows,  and  sacks  wheat  while  in  motion. 

these  improved  methods  of  growing  grain  compelled  speedier 
methods  of  handling  the  grain  between  the  farmer  and  the  mills, 
and  so  the  grain  elevator  resulted.  The  modern  elevator,  its  belt 
armed  with  scoops  revolved  on  a  swinging  leg,  handles  a  carload 
of  grain  in  a  few  minutes. 

SUMMARY 

Texas  seceded  from  Mexico,  and  for  about  nine  years  was  an  indepen 
dent  republic.  In  1845  it  was  annexed  by  the  United  States. 

The  Republic  of  Mexico  declared  war  against  the  United  States  be 
cause  of  the  annexation  of  Texas. 

An  attempt  of  the  Mexican  army  to  invade  Texas  failed.  General 
Taylor  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and  at  Buena  Vista  defeated  the  Mexicans. 

General  Kearney  invaded  and  occupied  New  Mexico.  American  set 
tlers  in  California  declared  that  country  an  independent  republic. 

General  Scott  marched  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  City  of  Mexico  and 
captured  it. 

A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  in  1848. 

The  agitation  of  popular  sovereignty  brought  about  the  passage  of 
Clay's  Omnibus  Bill  of  1850  and  a  more  stringent  fugitive-slave  law. 


298  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Free  Soil  party  was  organized  to  prevent  the  extension  of  slavery. 
The  dissolution  of  the  Whig  and  Free  Soil  parties  was  followed  by  the 
organization  of  the  Republican  party. 

The  provision  for  organizing  Kansas  and  Nebraska  as  territories,  per 
mitting  the  slavery  question  to  be  decided  by  the  people  themselves,  led 
to  a  bloody  struggle. 

The  Dred  Scott  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
declared  that  a  negro  had  none  of  the  legal  rights  of  citizenship,  and 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  act  was  null  and  void. 

"Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Republican  candidate,  was  elected  President 
in  1860.  He  declared  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  interfere  with 
slavery  where  it  legally  existed. 

Important  events  were  :  in  Folk's  administration  —  Fremont's  explo 
ration  of  the  West;  in  Taylor's  and  Fillrnore's  administrations  —  the 
Nicaragua  Canal  treaty,  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  and  the 
Lopez  expedition  against  Cuba;  in  Pierce's  administration  —  the  Gads- 
den  purchase;  in  Buchanan's  administration  —  the  John  Brown  raid  and 
the  beginning  of  secession. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

Popular  History  of  the  United  States  —  Scribner's.     Vol.  IV. 

The  United  States  — Andrews.     Vol.  II. 

Advanced  Civics  —  Forman.     Chapter  IX. 

Building  the  Nation  —  Coffin.     (For  popular  reading.) 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  —  Stowe.     (For  popular  reading.) 


UNITED  STATES 

DURING  THE  CIVIL,  WAR 


|  Union  States 


I  I 

- 


Territory  Contr 
by  federal  Go 


olled 


I  I  Border  States  |  |  Confederate.States 

0    255,0        190 200 300 400 500 

SCALE  OF  STATUTt  MILES 


The  Matthews-N( 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE   CIVIL  WAR 
OPENING   EVENTS 

The  Causes  of  Sectional  Feeling.  —  Sometimes  one  hears  an  ex 
pression  of  surprise  that  the  people  of  the  two  great  sections 
into  which  the  United  States  had  separated  should  have  reached 
a  crisis  that  could  be  settled  only  by  a  civil  war.  That  such  a 
condition  of  affairs  ought  never  to  have  existed,  most  people  will 
readily  admit ;  that  it  did  come  about,  and  that  the  struggle  cost 
nearly  a  million  of  lives,  are  sorrowful  facts. 

That  much  of  the  bitter  feeling  between  the  two  sections  grew 
out  of  the  question  of  slavery  cannot  be  denied.  Unfortunately, 
neither  side  could  look  at  the  situation  through  the  The  south- 
eyes  of  the  other.  In  the  South,  slavery  had  been  a  em  view 
recognized  institution  for  four  generations;  moreover,  ofslavery 
it  was  a  recognized  institution  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and 
the  slaveholder  could  see  nothing  wrong  about  it.  The  slaves 
were  well  cared  for,  and  rarely  was  one  ill-treated;  their 
masters  were  generally  humane  and,  moreover,  the  slave  repre 
sented  too  much  value  to  be  abused.  The  negro  was  far  better 
off  as  a  slave  in  the  South  than  ever  he  had  been  in  Africa. 

The  Southern  cotton  planter  therefore  could  not  understand  at 
all  why  there  should  be  any  objection  to  slave  labor,  or  wjiy  there 
should  be  any  greater  objection  to  carrying  a  slave  into  Massachu 
setts  than  to  taking  a  span  of  horses  there.  Neither  could  he 
understand  why  it  was  more  objectionable  to  recover  a  runaway 
slave  from  New  York,  than  to  get  a  stray  cow  under  similar 
circumstances.  Unfortunately,  the  cotton  planter  was  shut  off 
from  the  great  lines  of  traffic  through  which  the  world  exchanges 

299 


300  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

its  knowledge,  and  he  did  riot  perceive  that  all  over  the  world 
there  was  growing  a  hatred  of  human  slavery. 

There  was  also  a  business  side  to  the  matter.  Cotton  growing 
was  the  great  industry  of  the  South,  and  cotton  could  not  be 
grown  without  negro  labor.  Furthermore,  the  cotton  planter 
firmly  believed  that  the  staple  could  not  be  successfully  grown 
without  slave  labor,  and  to  interfere  with  the  latter  was  to  crip 
ple,  or  perhaps  to  destroy,  the  greatest  industry  in  the  world  at 
that  time.  Climate  and  topography  had  made  the  South  the 
world's  area  of  cotton  supply.  The  planter  was  naturally  in 
dignant  that  any  one  should  attempt  to  interfere  with  an  institu 
tion  which  the  laws  of  the  land  had  sanctioned  for  more  than  a 
century. 

The  question  of  state  rights  also  figured  largely  in  the  discus 
sions  at  this  period.     In  the  South  it  was  generally  held  that  a 
state  had  supreme  rights  —  that  is,  a  state  might  do 
anything  which  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
did  not  forbid.     The  latter  did  not  forbid  a  state  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union,  the  Southern  leaders  held,  therefore  a  state  had 
a  right  to  take  such  a  step. 

Behind  the  question  of  slavery  there  was  also  the  matter  of 
the  tariff.      The  manufacture  of  cotton  textiles  was  carried  on 
almost  entirely  in  the  North.      The  tariff,  therefore, 
question         ^  not  ^enent  tne  Southern  people  ;  it  compelled  them 
to  pay  higher  prices  for  everything  they  purchased, 
while  they  enjoyed  none  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  the  con 
sequent  increase  of  manufactures  in  the  United  States.     This  was 
an  additional  source  of  aggravation. 

In  the  North,  on  the  other  hand,  at  least  two  generations  were 
living  who  knew  nothing  about  slavery  except  what  they  read 
in  emotional  fiction  and  in  the  newspapers  that  were 
sentiment      opposed  to  such  an  institution.     The  town  meeting  of 
toward          New  England  had  had  the  effect  of  instilling  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  rights  of  the  individual,  and  the  right 
of  personal  liberty  had  always  been  emphasized.     Never  having 
owned  slaves,  the  generation   then  living  could  not  understand 
why  one  person  should  be  the  property  of  another.     Looked  at  in 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  301 

any  possible  light,  the  idea  of  slavery  was  to  them  atrocious; 
therefore  many  Northern  people  regarded  it  as  an  imperative 
duty  to  aid  runaway  slaves,  and  to  do  everything  within  their 
power  to  put  an  end  to  the  institution  of  slavery.  For  more  than 
a  score  of  years  prior  to  1860,  societies  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  had  been  established  in  various  parts  of  the  North,  and 
"underground  railways"1  had  helped  to  land  runaway  slaves  in 
Canada.  Moreover,  Northern  people  believed  that  a  tariff  for 
the  protection  of  their  manufactures  was  just  as  essential  to  their 
prosperity  as  was  slave  labor  to  the  cotton  planters. 

Another  cause  that  contributed  to  the  sectional  feeling  was  the 
absence  of  communication  between  the  two  sections.     There  were 
not  many  trunk  lines  of  railway  in  the  United  States 
at  that  time,  and  most  of  these  were  in  the  North.     Intercourse 
With  practically  the  single  exception  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad,  these  lines  extended  east  and  west,  because  the 
great   markets   of  commerce   were   either   east   or   west  of   the 
Atlantic  seaboard.     There  was  not  much  intercourse,  either  social 
or  commercial,  between  the  North  and  the  South.     Each  section 
knew  only  the  unpleasant  characteristics  of  the  other. 

The  Beginning  of  Secession.      1860.  —  During   the  presidential 
campaign  of  1860  there  was  a  growing  inclination  on  the  part  of 
the  Southern  people  to  leave  the   Union  should  the      south 
Republican  party  be  successful  in  the  national  elec-      Carolina 
tion.    After  the  election  of  Lincoln,  the  first  step  in      secedes 
this  direction  was  taken  by  South  Carolina.     A  convention  at 
Charleston  repealed  the  act  by  which  the  state  had  adopted  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  announced  that  the  union 
between   South  Carolina  and  the  United  States  was  dissolved. 
On    December    24    Governor    Pickens    issued    a    proclamation 
announcing   South  Carolina  to   be  a  separate  and  independent 
state. 

1  An  "  underground  railway  "  consisted  of  a  chain  of  men  living  at  distances 
of  ten  or  fifteen  miles  apart,  extending  from  a  slave  state  to  Canada.  A 
runaway  slave  was  piloted  by  one  member  to  the  next,  and  so  on,  until  he 
reached  a  place  of  safety.  There  were  many  of  these  "  railways  "  in  opera 
tion.  They  were  in  violation  of  the  law,  but  public  opinion  in  the  North  favored 
them. 


302  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

CHARLESTON 

MERCURY 

EXTRA: 


Passed  unanimously  at  1.15  o'clock.  P.  «W..  December 
gO/A,  I860. 

A*  ORDINANCE 

To  dittolre  the  Vnian  bttu*en  the  State  of  South  Carolina  and 
other  State*  united  vAth  Her  wider  the  compact  entUted  «  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America.'* 

We,  iVs  People  of  At  Stale  of  Sburt  CoroUna,  in.  CcnvenAon  tumbled,  Jo  declare  and  ordaa,  Mi 
it  it  Hereby  declared  and  ordained, 

Tbtt  ths  Ordinance  idopled  by  as  in  Convention,  oo  iba  twenty-third  At]  of  Hay,  la  (b* 
year  of  our  Lord  one  Ihoueand  aereo  hundred  tod  eighty-eight,  whereby  the  Constitution  of  tin 
Unikd  SUte*  of  America  was  ratified,  And  »Iso,  »a  Acts  ud  p»rta  of  AcU  of  the  Oenenl 
Assembly  of  this  Stale,  ratifying  amendments  of  (ha  said  Constitution,  are  hereby  repealed ; 
•od  that  the  union  DOW  tubeutiag  between  South  Carolina  tad  other  SUM,  unJer  lie  oam»  of 
"Tie  United  States  of.Amenca,"  u  hereby  dissolrad. 


THE 

UNION 


ir  H! 


A  NEWSPAPER  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA'S  SECESSION. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


303 


The  Confederate  States.  —  The  withdrawal  of  South  Carolina 
from  the  Union  was  speedily  followed  by  the  secession  of  six 
other  Southern  states.  During  January,  1861,  seces 
sion  ordinances  were  passed  by  the  states  of  Mis- 
sissippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  and  Louisiana, 
and  on  February  1,  by  Texas.  Delegates  from  the  seven  seceding 
states  assembled  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  on  February  4,  and  or 
ganized  a  pro  visional  con 
gress.  This  assembly, 
in  turn,  adopted  a  pro 
visional  constitution 
modeled  after  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United 
States  with  some  impor 
tant  changes,  such  as  the 
recognition  of  slavery 
and  the  prohibition  of 
protective  tariffs.  The 
provisional  government 
was  styled  the  Confed 
erate  States  of  America. 
Jefferson  Davis  of  Mis 
sissippi  was  unanimously 
elected  president,  and 
Alexander  H.  Stephens 
of  Georgiavice-president. 

The  states  of  Virginia, 
Arkansas,  North  Caro 
lina,  and  Tennessee 
subsequently  joined 
the  Confederacy.  In 
March,  1861,  the  eleven  states,  which  had  declared  themselves 
free  and  independent  of  the  Federal  government,  adopted  a 
permanent  constitution  and  made  the  provisional  government 
permanent.  Davis  and  Stephens  were  again  elected  as  president 
and  vice-president.  The  headquarters  of  the  government  were 
established  at  Richmond. 


304  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  the  "  border 
The  border  states,"  did  not  leave  the  Union,  although  each  had  a 
states  considerable  population  in  favor  of  secession. 

In  the  mountainous  parts  of  the  South  the  sentiment  against 
secession  was  strong.  In  these  regions  but  little  cotton  was 
grown,  and  there  were  no  vast  plantations  requiring  a 
Virginia  large  force  of  slaves.  So  far  as  business  was  concerned, 
the  people  could  see  no  advantage,  but  many  dis 
advantages,  in  secession.  For  this  reason  the  people  in  the 
western  part  of  Virginia  were  strongly  opposed  to  leaving  the 
Union,  and  this  part  of  Virginia  was  recognized  by  the  Federal 
Congress  as  the  state  of  Virginia  (1862). 

No  Coercion. — No  interference  with  the  Confederates  was  offered 
by  President  Buchanan.  In  a  message  to  the  Congress  (1860)  he 
declared  that  the  Southern  states  had  no  right  to  secede,  but  he 
could  not  find  in  the  Constitution  any  power  by  which  a  state 
could  be  coerced  into  submission  to  the  Federal  government. 
He  argued  that  the  President  could  use  force  only  to  protect  the 
public  property  and  to  defend  the  government  from  assault. 

Propositions  for  a  Compromise.  —  During  the  winter  of  1860-1861, 
the  Congress  discussed  several  propositions  for  a  compromise  of 
The  the  national  trouble.  John  J.  Crittenden  of  Ken- 

Crittenden  tucky  offered  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  pro- 
Compromise  viding  that  s]avery  should  be  forever  prohibited  in 
all  the  country  north  of  the  parallel  of  36°  30',  and  permitted 
in  all  the  country  south  of  it,  to  the  west  of  Missouri.  The 
Crittenden  Compromise,  as  it  was  termed,  was  considerably  dis 
cussed,  but  was  finally  rejected  in  bath  houses  of  the  Congress. 

An  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  proposed  by  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  of  Illinois,  which,  after  a  great  deal  of  debate,  was  agreed 
The  to.  It  provided  that  the  Congress  should  have  no 

Douglas  power  to  abolish  or  to  interfere  with  the  domestic  in- 
amendment  stitutions  of  a  gtate?  ilicluding  that  of  slavery.  The 
Douglas  amendment  was  presented  to  the  legislatures  of  the 
states  for  ratification,  but  was  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  Mary 
land  and  Ohio  only  ;  consequently  it  came  to  nothing. 

Early  in  January,  1861,  the  Virginia  legislature  invited  all  the 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


305 


states  to  send  delegates  to  a  conference  to  be  held  in  Washington 
(February  4)   for    the  purpose  of  arranging  a  peace 
able  settlement  of  the  national  controversy.     Fourteen      conference 
free  states  and  seven  slave  states  were  represented  in 
the  conference.     But  the  conference  did  not  approve  the  proposed 
amendments,   and 
therefore  it  was  of 
no  avail. 

Preparations  for 
Conflict.  —  The  se 
ceded  states  then 
began  to  seize  the 
forts,  arsenals, 
navy  yards,  custom 
houses,  and  other 
Federal  property 
within  their  bor 
ders.  Neverthe 
less,  no  resistance 
to  these  seizures 
was  made  by  Pres 
ident  Buchanan. 
More  than  two 
thousand  guns  had 
been  transferred 
from  the  Northern 
arsenals  to  those 
the  Southern 


in 

states  a  few  months 
before  the  Confed 
erate  government 
was  formed,  and  thus  the  North  was  partly  disarmed. 

The  regular  troops  of  the  United  States,  numbering  about 
eighteen  thousand  men,  were  stationed  mainly  at  far  Western 
and  Southern  posts,  and  the  ships  of  the  small  navy  were  nearly 
all  in  foreign  seas.  Many  of  the  army  and  navy  officers,  who 
were  born  in  the  South,  resigned  and  joined  the  forces  of  the 


306  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Confederate  States.  In  the  South  there  was  an  immediate  prepa 
ration  for  war ;  in  the  North  also  it  was  recognized  that  a  grave 
crisis  was  at  hand.  Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  the 
Republicans  entered  into  power. 

The  Inauguration  of  Lincoln.  1861.  —  A  great  multitude  repre 
senting  many  states  saw  President  Lincoln  take  the  oath  of  office 
at  Washington  on  March  4,  1861,  and  assume  the  control  of  the 
government.  In  his  inaugural  address  the  President  declared 
his  intention  to  enforce  the  law  and  to  do  all  he  could  to  preserve 
the  Union.  He  said  that  the  people  of  the  Southern  states  seemed 
to  fear  that  under  a  Republican  administration  their  peace  and 
property  were  endangered.  He  declared  that  he  had  no  inten 
tion  of  interfering  with  slavery  in  the  states  where  it  existed,  and 
he  believed  that  he  had  no  lawful  right  to  do  so.  He  held,  how 
ever,  that  the  Union  was  perpetual,  and '  therefore  that  no  state 
could  lawfully  withdraw  from  it.1 

The  Confederate  Commissioners.  1861.  —  In  March,  two  Confed 
erate  commissioners  sent  a  communication  to  the  secretary  of  state, 
informing  him  that  they  desired  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 
the  Federal  government  "for  the  adjustment  of  all  questions  grow 
ing  out  of  this  separation."  Secretary  Seward  felt  that  he  could 
not  recognize  them  as  diplomatic  agents  or  hold  communication 
with  them,  and  so  the  commissioners  returned.  This  act  closed 
the  possibility  of  further  negotiations  looking  for  peace. 

THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF'  THE   WAR 

Fort  Sumter  Bombarded.  April  12,  1861.  —  At  the  time  when 
Lincoln  became  President,  all  the  forts  in  Charleston  Harbor, 

1  "  lit  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  countrymen,"  he  said,  "and  not  in  mine, 
are  the  momentous  issues  of  civil  war.  The  government  will  not  assail  you. 
You  can  have  no  conflict  without  yourselves  being  the  aggressors.  You  have 
no  oath  registered  in  Heaven  to  destroy  the  government,  while  I  have  the  most 
solemn  one  to  preserve,  protect,  arid  defend  it.  .  .  .  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must 
not  break  our  bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from 
every  battlefield  arid  patriot  grave  to  every  living  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad 
land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they 
will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  natures." 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


307 


except  Fort  Sumter,  were  occupied  by  the  Confederates.  Fort 
Sumter  was  held  by  Major  Robert  Anderson  and  seventy  artillery 
men  of  the  United  States  army.  Supplies  had  been  sent  to  Fort 
Sumter  on  the  Star  of  the  West,  but  the  vessel  had  been  fired  upon 
by  the  Confederates  ajid  driven  away. 

The  Confederates  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  and  when 
that  was  refused,  declared  that  the  sending  of  supplies  would  be 
considered  as  a  declaration  of  war.  President  Lincoln  announced 
his  intention  of  supplying  the  fort  "  at  all  hazards,"  and  dis 
patched  vessels  from  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard  to  reen  force  and 
provision  the  beleaguered  stronghold. 


FORT  SUMTER,  APRIL  12,  18G1. 

About  seven  hundred  Confederates,  in  command  of  General 
Beauregard,  a  distinguished  soldier  of  the  Mexican  War,  had 
assembled  at  Charleston  and  erected  batteries  on  the  shore. 
When  the  Confederate  authorities  learned  that  Fort  Sumter 
was  to  be  relieved,  General  Beauregard  was  ordered  to  bombard 
it  and  force  its  capitulation.  He  summoned  Major  Anderson  to 
surrender,  and  when  the  latter  refused  (April  12,  1861),  all  the 
Confederate  batteries  and  forts  opened  fire  on  Fort  Sumter.  For 
thirty-four  hours  there  was  a  terrific  bombardment.  On  the  after 
noon  of  April  13th,  the  fort,  which  had  been  nearly  consumed 
by  fire,  was  compelled  to  surrender  for  want  of  ammunition.  No 
lives  were  lost  on  either  side. 

The   Country   Aroused.  —  The    bombardment   of    Fort    Sumter 


308  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

aroused  both  the  North  and  the  South.  A  remarkable  military 
spirit  was  displayed.  The  North  sprang  to  arms  without  distinc 
tion  of  party  to  defend  the  Federal  Union  ;  the  South  enthusi 
astically  rallied  to  the  support  of  the  Confederacy.  President 
Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteer  troops 
to  serve  for  three  months,  and  called  the  Congress  in  special  session. 

In  response  to  the  President's  call,  thousands  of  men  came  for 
ward  to  enroll.  These  were  enlisted  as  rapidly  as  possible  and 
hurried  to  the  front.  About  forty  thousand  were 

^sifed  ordered  to  the  vicinity  of  Washington.  While  pass 
ing  through  Baltimore,  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  regi 
ment  was  assailed  by  a  street  mob  and  several  soldiers  were  killed. 
This  was  the  first  bloodshed  of  the  war.1 

Military  Organization.  —  In  May  President  Lincoln  called  for 
forty  thousand  more  volunteers  to  serve  for  three  years ;  he  also 
increased  the  regular  arrny  to  forty  thousand,  and  strengthened 
the  navy  by  eighteen  thousand  additional  men.  By  the  end  of 
June  the  enlistments  had  reached  a  total  of  more  than  one  hun 
dred  and  eighty  thousand  men.  The  Confederate  States  also  had 
raised  and  equipped  a  large  army.2 

Practically  none  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  troops  on  either 
side  had  seen  active  military  service,  nor  had  the  officers,  with 
exception  of  the  few  veterans  of  the  Mexican  War.  The  number 
of  officers,  therefore,  who  were  competent  to  create  the  required 
military  organization,  was  very  small.  Both  armies  were  without 
experience.  General  Winfield  Scott,  a  veteran  of  two  wars,  was 
in  nominal  command  of  the  Federal  forces.  Scott  was  very  old, 
however,  and  the  active  command  was  held  by  General  Irwin 
McDowell.  General  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard  was  in  command  of  the 
Confederate  forces  in  the  East. 

1  As  a  strange  coincidence,  it  occurred  on  the  anniversary  of  the  skirmish  at 
Lexington  (April  19)  under  circumstances  that  were  somewhat  similar. 

2  At  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  both  armies  had  the  following  organization  : 
Ten  companies,  each  nominally  containing  one  hundred  men,  formed  a  regiment; 
three  regiments  formed  a  brigade  ;  three  or  more  brigades  made  a  division  ;  three 
or  more  divisions  made  an  army  corps,  and  several  army  corps  constituted  an 
army.     Any  large  body  of  troops  operating  as  a  unit  was  styled  an  army.    Thus, 
there  was  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  etc. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


309 


The  Scene  of  Operations.  —  The  line  of  military  operations  ex 
tended  from  Norfolk,  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  nearly  to  the 
western  boundary  of  Texas.  In  the  East  it  lay  along  the  Potomac 
and  across  Virginia ;  the  middle  part  extended  through  Kentucky ; 
in  the  West  it  stretched  across  the  state  of  Missouri.  The  Con 
federate  armies  had  the  advantage  of  position,  for  they  were 
fighting  on  their  own  ground. 

Operations  in  West  Virginia.  — The  first  movement  in  the  East 
was  conducted  by  General  George  B.  McClellan  of  the  Federal 
army.  By  a  series  of  clever  maneuvers, 
McClellan  drove  Beauregard  out  of  West 
Virginia.  A  Confederate  force  was  sent 
into  the  valley  of  the  Kanawha  for  the 
purpose  of  retaking  it,  but  it  was  routed 
at  Carnifex  Ferry  by  General  Rosecrans. 

The  Battle  of  Bull  Run.  —  When  Beau- 
regard   left   West   Virginia,   he    took    a 
position  at  Manassas  Junction,  a  station 
of  the  Southern   Railroad  near  a  small 
creek  called  Bull  Run.     It  was  an  excel 
lent    position.       At    this    point    he    was        ^NERAL  MCCLELLAN. 
within  easy  reach  of  supplies ;  he  could  also  make  a  rapid  advance 
upon  Washington,  thirty  miles  away. 

In  the  meanwhile  there  grew  a  popular  clamor  demanding  that 
an  attack  should  be  made  on  Richmond  before  the  Confederate 
Congress  assembled  there.  To  this  clamor  General  Scott  unwisely 
yielded,  and  General  McDowell  started  southward  from  Washing 
ton  with  thirty  thousand  troops.  A  few  days  later  (July  21, 
1861)  he  encountered  General  Beauregard  writh  some  twenty-nine 
thousand  Confederate  troops,  and  the  battle  was  on.  At  first  the 
Confederate  forces  were  driven  back,  and  victory  seemed  to  fall 
to  the  Federal  troops.  The  Confederate  lines  were  more  than 
once  broken  and  again  reformed.1  At  the  critical  moment,  when 

1  The  example  of  General  Thomas  J.  Jackson  caused  General  Bee,  a  Confed 
erate  officer,  to  exclaim  to  his  command  :  "  Look  at  Jackson  standing  there  like 
a  stone  wall!"  Thereafter  Jackson  was  everywhere  known  as  "Stonewall" 
Jackson. 


310 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


the  Confederate  lines  were  wavering,  General  Johnston  arrived 
with  reinforcements  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  The  Federal 
troops  were  checked  and  then  driven  back.  Their  retreat  became 
a  panic,  and  they  fled  toward  Washington  in  hopeless  confusion. 


0          10        20         30       40        50        60        70 

SCALE   OF  STATUTE   MILES 
The  M.-N.  Works 


SCENE  OF  OPERATIONS  IN  VIRGINIA. 

The  Confederate  troops  did  not  follow  them.     About  five  thou 
sand  men  were  killed  and  wounded  in  this  battle. 

Making  Preparation  for  War.  —  The  battle  of  Bull  Eun  con 
vinced  the  Northern  people  that  a  conquest  of  the  South  was  not 
an  easy  task.  The  Southern  people,  for  their  part,  were  not  un 
duly  elated,  for  their  victory  had  been  won  at  a  heavy  cost.  It 
was  apparent  to  the  Federal  authorities  that  a  great  deal  of 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  311 

energy  must  be  given  at  once  to  the  organization  of  the  army. 
General  Scott  was  retired  at  his  own  request  and  General  McClel- 
lan  was  placed  in  command.  The  Congress  voted  $500,000,000 
and  authorized  the  President  to  call  for  five  hundred  thousand 
men.  During  the  rest  of  the  summer  but  little  was  done  in 
the  East  except  to  train  the  troops  and  make  the  army  a  good 
fighting  machine. 

The  most  notable  affair  of  the  summer  was   the  defeat  of  a 
reconnoitering  force  of  two  thousand  Federal  troops  who  had 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Balls  Bluff  (October  21,  1861). 
The  force  was  cut  to  pieces,  losing  half  the  men.1 

Operations  in  the  Southwest.  — Active  operations  had  begun  in  the 
southwest  as  well  as  in  Virginia,  In  Missouri  General  Nathaniel 
Lyon  gained  a  victory  over  a  Confederate  force  at  Boonville 
(June,  1861),  and  the  next  month  General  Franz  Sigel  had  an 
engagement  with  the  Confederates  at  Carthage,  but  was  com 
pelled  to  fall  back.  A  little  later  (August  10)  Lyon  and  Sigel, 
with  five  thousand  men,  made  an  attack  on  twenty  thousand  of 
the  enemy  under  Generals  Price  and  McCullough,  at  Wilsons 
Creek,  near  Springfield.  General  Lyon  was  killed,  and  the  Federal 
force  was  defeated.  General  Lyon,  however,  had  thwarted  the 
plans  of  those  who  were  seeking  to  take  Missouri  out  of  the  Union. 

The  military  operations  in  Kentucky  were  of  much  the  same 
character  as  those  in  Missouri,  and  were  designed  to  prevent  the 
state  from  seceding. 

Operations  against  the  Coast.  —  In  August  an  expedition  of  naval 
and  land  forces,  in  command  of  Commodore  Stringham  and 
General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  captured  the  forts  at  Hatteras 
Inlet,  North  Carolina,  after  a  bombardment  of  two  days.  Another 
combined  expedition,  commanded  by  Commodore  Dupont  and 
General  Sherman,  went  to  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  and 
captured  the  forts  at  the  entrance  to  Port  Royal  Sound.  The 
Confederates  then  abandoned  most  of  the  defenses  they  had 
seized  on  the  coast.  Port  Royal  thereafter  became  the  chief 
supply  station  in  the  South  for  the  Federal  authorities. 

1  Colonel  Baker,  United  States  Senator  from  Oregon,  was  among  those  killed 
at  Balls  Bluff. 


312  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Trent  Affair.  —  By  the  fall  of  1861  England,  France,  Spain, 
and  Portugal  had  recognized  the  Confederate  States  as  having 
the  same  rights  of  war  as  the  Federal  government.  In  November, 
John  M.  Mason  and  John  Slidell,  Confederate  commissioners  to 
England  and  France,  sailed  from  Havana,  Cuba,  for  Europe  on 
the  British  mail  steamer  Trent.  The  Trent  was  stopped  on  the 
high  seas  by  the  United  States  warship  San  Jacinto,  commanded 
by  Captain  Charles  Wilkes,  and  Mason  and  Slidell  were  forcibly 
removed  from  the  British  vessel,  taken  to  Fort  Warren  in  Boston 
Harbor,  and  held  as  prisoners  of  war.  The  British  government 
was  indignant  over  the  forcible  search  of  a  neutral  British  ship 
in  neutral  waters,  and  demanded  that  Mason  and  Slidell  be  given 
up,  and  that  reparation  for  the  act  be  made.  Inasmuch  as 
Captain  Wilkes's  action  was  an  unfriendly  act,  President  Lincoln 
ordered  that  the  two  envoys  be  surrendered  without  delay.  A 
diplomatic  apology  for  the  occurrence  was  also  made.1 

The  Situation  at  the  End  of  the  First  Year  of  the  War.  —  At  the 
close  of  the  first  year  of  the  war  the  Confederate  forces  had 
possession  of  most  of  the  forts  and  arsenals  in  the  South.  The 
Federal  government  had  reenforced  Fort  Pickens,  a  very  strong 
fortification  on  the  Florida  coast,  and  had  not  lost  Fortress  Mon 
roe,  which  guarded  the  entrance  to  Hampton  Roads  and  James 
River,  Virginia.  Port  Royal  and  the  earthworks  at  Hatteras 
Inlet  had  been  gained,  and  most  of  the  Southern  ports  had  been 
blockaded  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  receiving  food  supplies 
and  from  shipping  their  cotton.  The  states  of  Maryland,  Mis 
souri,  and  Kentucky  had  been  prevented  from  seceding. 

Kansas  admitted  to  the  Union.  1861.  —  After  the  election  of 
President  Lincoln  the  struggle  in  Kansas  became  a  matter  of 

1  The  United  States  had  always  denied  the  right  of  the  search  of  neutral  vessels 
during  a  time  of  war,  but  the  British  government  had  always  insisted  upon  it.  In 
1812  the  Americans  had  declared  war  against  Great  Britain  almost  expressly  to 
maintain  this  freedom  from  forcible  search  and  the  right  to  sail  the  high  seas  un 
molested.  In  view  of  all  this  President  Lincoln  decided  that  to  uphold  Captain 
Wilkes  would  be  inconsistent.  Moreover,  by  demanding  the  return  of  Mason  and 
Slidell,  Great  Britain  became  committed  to  the  American  principle  of  freedom 
from  search.  Fortunately  for  the  Americans  it  established  a  precedent,  and 
therefore  was  a  diplomatic  victory. 


4llen  M  J^  d  *    < 

H         kLacolal  K^Cl^v^          B       J-? 


/      WESTERN   CAMPAIGNS    tJT* 


SCALE    OF  STATUTE   M.LES 

General  GRANT  thus:    ,^_^  General  BUELL  thus: 

General.  BRAGG  thus:    —     — •  General  HOOD  thus:     - 
G  UL  F  -O  F    \MtmCO  General  THOMAS  thus:  __  _    General  SMITH  thus:    -ft+rW- , 

THE  M.-N. WORKS 90  


THE  CIVIL    WAR  318 

minor  importance  and  was  almost  forgotten  for  the  time.  In  1861 
the  people  applied  for  admission,  however,  and  Kansas  was 
admitted  as  the  thirty-fourth  state.  The  Civil  War  being  in 
progress,  there  were  no  congressmen  from  the  seceded  states  to 
contend  for  slavery ;  Kansas  therefore  came  in  as  a  free  state. 


THE   CAMPAIGN  IN  THE   WEST 
JANUARY,  1862,  TO  MAY,  1862 

The  Federal  Plan  of  Campaign.  1862.  —  At  the  beginning  of 
operations  in  1862  the  Federal  army  consisted  of  about  five  hun 
dred  thousand  men ;  the  Confederate  forces  numbered  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  The  blockade  of  Southern  ports, 
begun  in  1861,  had  become  fairly  effective,  and  an  attempt  to 
run  the  blockade  was  pretty  apt  to  result  in  the  capture  of  the 
vessel.  The  operations  of  1862  had  three  things  in  view :  — 

The  strengthening  of  the  blockade  along  the  Southern  coast. 
The  capture  of  Richmond. 
The  opening  of  the  Mississippi. 

Of  these,  the  last  named  was  perhaps  the  most  important.  With 
the  control  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal  forces, 
the  Confederate  territory  would  be  cut  in  twain,  and  their 
food-stuffs  and  the  supply  of  cotton  with  which  the  Confederates 
expected  to  raise  money  would  be  greatly  diminished.  In  order 
to  achieve  this  result,  however,  it  was  necessary  to  break  or  de 
stroy  the  Confederate  line  that  stretched  east  and  west  through 
Kentucky.  Accordingly  the  first  operations  were  directed  against 
this  line. 

The  Battle  of  Mill  Springs :  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Donelson.  —  The 
first  breach  in  the  Confederate  lines  was  made  by  General  Thomas, 
who  attacked  the  Confederates  at  Mill  Springs,  Kentucky  (Janu 
ary  19,  1862),  and  defeated  them.  General  Zollicoffer,  the  com 
mander  of  the  Confederate  troops,  was  killed.  The  result  of  the 
battle  was  the  capture  of  Cumberland  Gap  and  thereby  an  open 
way  into  eastern  Tennessee. 


314  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

In  the  meantime,  a  flotilla  of  iron-clad  river  boats  had  been 
constructed  at  St.  Louis  by  Captain  Eads,1  and  these  were  placed 
under  the  command  of  Flag-officer  Foote.  With  this  flotilla, 
Foote  made  his  way  to  Fort  Henry,  which  guarded  the  lower 
part  of  the  Tennessee  River.  The  capture  of  the  fort  was  quickly 
accomplished,  but  the  Confederate  troops  escaped  to  Fort  Donel- 

son,  which  guarded  the 
'&"**«-•&  Cumberland  River.  Gen 
eral  U.  S.  Grant2  had 
already  started  with  his 
command  from  Cairo,  Illi 
nois,  to  cooperate  with 
Foote.  He  moved  his 
troops  toward  Fort  Donel- 

son,  and  Foote  also  pro- 
AN  IRON-CLAD  RIVER  BOAT.  ceeded    thither    with    his 

flotilla.  A  fight  of  three  days  convinced  General  Buckner,  the 
Confederate  commander,  that  further  resistance  was  hopeless.3 
He  surrendered  (February  14),  and  fifteen  thousand  prisoners 
and  a  large  quantity  of  arms  and  military  stores  were  yielded  to 
the  Federal  commander. 

The  capture  of  these  forts  was  the  chief  step  in  breaking 
the  Confederate  power  in  the  West.  The  Tennessee  and  Cum- 

1  These  boats,  about  a  dozen  in  number,  were  built  in  the  incredibly  short 
time  of  sixty-five  days. 

2  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT  (1822-1885)  was  a  native  of  Clermont  County,  Ohio.    He 
was  a  graduate  of  West  Point.    He  fought  in  every  battle  of  the  Mexican  War 
except  Buena  Vista,  and  was  twice  promoted  for  bravery  and  efficiency.    He  left 
the  army  to  take  up  farming,  and  later,  with  his  father,  in  Illinois,  the  leather 
business  and  saddlery.    On  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  reentered  the  army. 
In  March,  1864,  he  was  made  commander  of  all  the  Union  armies.    By  his  swift 
arid  skillful  action  he  conducted  the  war  to  a  successful  termination.     Upon  the 
death  of  Lincoln  he  was  generally  regarded  as  the  foremost  American,  and  'in 
1868  was  elected  the  eighteenth  President.    He  served  two  terms.    The  writing 
of  his  "Memoirs,"  just  before  his  death,  at  a  time  of  acute  suffering,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  wife,  was  a  most  heroic  action.     He  was  a  generous  conqueror, 
without  pettiness,  a  man  of  action  and  of  a  high  and  modest  nobility. 

3  General  Buckner  asked  General  Grant  what  terms  of  surrender  would  be 
given.    Grant  replied  :  "  No  terms  except  unconditional  and  immediate  surrender 
can  be  accepted.    I  propose  to  move  immediately  on  your  works." 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


315 


berland  rivers  were  thus  opened,  so  that  the  gunboats  of  the 
river  flotilla  commanded  a  large  part  of  western  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  The  Confederate  forces  thereupon  got  away  from 
Bowling  Green  and  Columbus,  and  took  a  new  position  at  Corinth, 
an  important  railway  junction.  Federal  troops  immediately  en 
tered  Nashville,  and  the  Federal  lines  were  extended  almost  to 
the  northern  boundary  of  Mississippi.  The  capture  of  Fort  Don- 
elson  was  the  greatest  military  achievement  that  had  taken  place 
on  the  American  continent  up  to  that  time. 

The  Battle  of  Shiloh.  —  Shortly  after  the  Tennessee  River  was 
opened,  Grant  moved  his  army  up  the  river  to  Pittsburg  Landing, 
near  Shiloh  Church  in  Tennessee,  and  General  Buell  was  ordered 
to  join  him.  General  Albert  Sid 
ney  Johnston,  in  command  of  the 
Confederate  forces  at  Corinth, 
attacked  him  (April  6)  and  drove 
him  steadily  back.  By  morning, 
however,  General  Buell  had  ar 
rived.  In  the  second  day's  fight, 
the  Federal  troops  won  a  great 
victory.  General  Johnston 1  was 
mortally  wounded  and  the  Con 
federate  forces,  with  General 
Beauregard  in  command,  re 
treated  to  Corinth.  In  his  of 
ficial  report  Grant  attributed 
to  General  Sherman  the  success 
of  the  battle.  The  slaughter 
was  dreadful,  about  twenty-five 
thousand  being  killed. 

The  Capture  of  Island  Number  Ten.  —  The  islands  of  the  lower 
Mississippi  River,  from  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  to  New  Orleans, 
are  numbered  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence.  Island  Number 
Ten  had  been  fortified  by  the  Confederates,  and  it  guarded  a 

1  Johnston  was  one  of  the  most  capable  officers  in  the  Confederate  army.  He 
was  also  a  most  noble  character.  While  lying  on  the  field,  he  sent  his  surgeon  to 
attend  to  a  wounded  Federal  prisoner,  and  in  the  meantime  bled  to  death. 


ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 


316  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

long  range  of  the  Mississippi.  After  a  siege  lasting  nearly  a 
month,  General  Pope  and  Commodore  Foote  captured  it,  securing 
several  thousand  prisoners  and  a  large  amount  of  arms.  The 
The  Missis  capture  of  this  stronghold  opened  the  Mississippi  as 
sippi  open  far  south  as  Memphis,  and  that  city  was  shortly  af ter- 
to  Memphis  ward  in  the  possession  of  the  Federal  troops.  By 
this  time  (June  4)  the  Federal  troops  were  in  control  of  western 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  so  that  their  line  stretched  from 
Memphis  to  Chattanooga. 

General  Bragg  breaks  the  Line;  Perryville;  Murfreesboro.  —  The 
Federal  forces  held  this  territory  for  several  months  without  oppo 
sition  ;  then  for  a  time  they  were  put  on  the  defensive.  Early 
in  the  fall  of  1862  the  Confederate  forces,  under  General  Bragg, 
succeeded  in  breaking  the  line,  and  Bragg  himself  crossed  Ten 
nessee  into  Kentucky,  intending  to  reach  Louisville.  For  a  short 
time  he  had  things  his  own  way ;  but  General  Buell  finally  headed 
him  off  and  defeated  him  at  Perryville,  Kentucky  (October  8, 
1862).  Bragg  again  attempted  to  move  northwest,  but  he  was 
met  by  the  same  forces,  then  under  General  Kosecrans  who  had 
succeeded  Buell  in  command,  and  was  so  badly  defeated  at 
Murfreesboro  (December  31)  that  all  further  attempts  of  the 
Confederates  to  regain  ^Kentucky  were  given  up. 

Corinth  and  luka. — While  General  Bragg  was  raiding  Kentucky, 
the  Confederates  made  another  attempt  to  extend  their  front,  but 
they  were  headed  off  at  luka  by  General  Eosecrans.  Immediately 
afterward  the  two  Confederate  armies,  the  one  under  Price  and 
the  other  under  Van  Dorn,  fell  on  General  Eosecrans  near  Corinth, 
but  they  were  defeated  and  driven  back  forty  miles. 

Operations  West  of  the  Mississippi;  Pea  Ridge. — West  of  the 
Mississippi  Eiver  the  Confederate  lines  reached  a  point  within 
the  Missouri  border,  and  their  forces  held  the  state  of  Arkansas. 
Early  in  March  (1862)  General  Curtis,  in  command  of  the  Federal 
forces,  moved  upon  the  Confederate  lines.  The  two  armies  met 
at  Pea  Kidge,  where  a  hard  battle  was  fought.  The  Confederates 
were  defeated  and  forced  south  of  the  Arkansas  Kiver. 

New  Orleans  Occupied. — There  were  a  number  of  engagements 
in  the  southwest  for  the  purpose  of  opening  the  Mississippi  Eiver 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


317 


to  communication,  but  of  these  the  occupation  of  New  Orleans 
was  the  most  important.  In  April  (1862)  an  expedition  of  naval 
and  land  forces,  commanded  by  Commodore  David  G.  Farragut 
and  General  B.  F.  Butler,  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
with  the  intention  of  taking  New  Orleans. 

The  Confederate  forts  and  batteries  at  the  river's  mouth  were 
bombarded  for  six  days  with  but  little  effect,  and  Commodore 
Farragut  decided  to  sail  his  flotilla  past 
them.  The  obstructions  in  the  river,  con 
sisting  of  dismantled  vessels  and  logs 
connected  by  chains,  were  broken  and 
swept  away  ;  and  the  forty  vessels  of  the 
flotilla  began  their  extraordinary  voyage. 
After  a  terrific  artillery  battle  they  suc 
ceeded  in  forcing  their  way  up 
the  river  to  the  Confederate 
squadron  near  New  Orleans. 
The  Confederate  squadron  was 
destroyed  or  captured,  and  then  the 
course  of  the  flotilla  was  clear  as  far  as  New  Orleans.  On  the 
1st  of  May,  the  Federal  troops  were  landed,  and  General  Butler 
quickly  occupied  the  city.  Farragut  afterward  took  part  in 
opening  the  rest  of  the  lower  Mississippi. 

Of  the  Mississippi  River  only  the  stretch  from  Port  Hudson 
to  Vicksburg  remained  in  the  control  of  the  Confederate  forces. 


Farragut 
opens  the 
lower  Mis 
sissippi. 


ADMIRAL  FARRAGUT. 


THE    WAR   IN   THE    EAST 
JANUARY,    1862,    TO    JULY,   1863 

The  Plan  of  Campaign.  —  In  the  East,  the  capture  of  Kichmond, 
the  capital  of  the  Confederate  States,  was  the  great  object  of  the 
war.  Concerning  this,  all  were  agreed.  As  to  the  manner  of 
doing  it  there  was  a  division  of  opinion.  Popular  sentiment 
and  the  Federal  authorities  in  Washington  desired  that  General 
McClellan  should  inarch  his  army  southward  from  Washington, 
so  that  it  would  always  have  a  position  between  Washington 


318 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


and  the  Confederate  army.  General  McClellan  insisted  on 
approaching  Eichmond  by  way  of  the  James  Eiver.  The  result 
was  a  compromise  and,  like  most  compromises,  it  proved  a 
failure.1 


THE  PENINSULAR  CAMPAIGN. 

The  plan  of  operations  in  the  East  as  finally  decided  on.  involved 
the  following  movements :  — 

The  occupation  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley  by  G-eneral  Banks  in 

order  to  protect  Washington  from  the  West. 
A  forward  movement  upon  Eichmond  by  General  McDowell. 
An  invasion  of  the  peninsula  between  the  York  Eiver  and  the 

James  Eiver  by  General  McClellan. 

1  Military  students  have  generally  agreed  with  McClellan's  views.  The  route 
which  the  government  authorities  desired  him  to  take  involved  the  crossing  of 
many  rivers,  every  one  of  which  could  have  been  made  a  Confederate  stronghold. 
There  were  also  extensive  forest-covered  swamps,  across  which  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  transport  the  supplies.  Indeed,  it  is  now  conceded  that  the 
plan  was  just  as  unwise  as  that  forced  on  Burgoyne  in  1777  (see  page  158). 


Chambfersbur 
EN 


VIRGINIA  CAMPAIGNS 

FEDERAL  ARMIES   In  Blue. 
CO> [FEDERATE  ARMIES 
Campaign  of  1868: 


Campaign  of  1868:"-  ~  SS 
lu'n  of  18 64 

Uailn.a.ls  tlius: 


Campaign  of  1864^85>V.  confJdLte '— 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


319 


The  first  of  these  movements  was  carried  out  in  part ;  the  second 
failed  because  McDowell  was  called  away  to  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  in  order  to  head  off  Stonewall  Jackson ;  the  third  became 
the  chief  effort  of  the  campaign  in  the  East. 

McClelland  Peninsular  Campaign ;  Fair  Oaks.  —  By  March,  1862, 
General  Halleck  had  superseded  General  McClellan  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Federal  forces,  and  the  latter  was  made  commander 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.1  McClellan  landed  his  troops  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  and  from  that  point 
advanced  to  the  peninsula  where, 
eighty  years  before,  Lord  Cornwallis 
had  been  penned  by  Washington. 
Yorktown  was  held  by  a  Confeder 
ate  force  under  General  Magrude^. 
After  a  siege  lasting  nearly  a 
month,  Magruder  was  driven  to 
William sburg  with  his  army  badly 
crippled.  Then  he  withdrew  his 
troops  to  Richmond.  McClellan 
followed  until  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  city. 

The    Confederate    Congress    ad 
journed   and  the  principal  officers 

of  the  government  left  Richmond 

,.  GENERAL  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON. 

expecting  an  immediate  attack ;  but 

none  was  made.  Shortly  afterward  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
made  a  fierce  attack  on  McClellan's  forces  at  Fair  Oaks  (May  21, 
1862),  but  was  driven  back  to  Richmond  with  a  heavy  loss. 

The  Strategy  of  General  Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson.  —  In  the 
meantime  General  McDowell  had  advanced  nearly  to  jackson»s 
Fredericksburg  with  forty -five  thousand  troops,  intend-  Valley  earn 
ing  to  join  McClellan.     The  Federal  General  Banks  paign 
was  holding  the  northern  Shenandoah  Valley  while  General  Fre- 

1  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  a  Federal  army  which  was  trying  to  take 
Richmond.  The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  a  Confederate  army  defending 
Richmond. 


320 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


/*\ 


STONEWALL  JACKSON. 


mont  was  occupying  West  Virginia.  It  fell  to  Stonewall  Jackson 
to  prevent  McDowell,  Banks,  and  Fremont  from  sending  reen- 
forcements  to  help  McClellan  near  Richmond.  Jackson  made  a 
sudden  dash  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley  from  Staunton  to  Win 
chester,  where  he  defeated  Banks,  driving  him  over  into  Maryland. 
He  then  went  south  and  met  Fremont, 
who  had  just  crossed  the  Alleghany 
Mountains ;  in  a  fierce  battle  at  Cross 
&  j|  Keys  he  drove  Fremont  back.  Imme 

diately  he  crossed  the  Shenandoah  Eiver 
and  defeated  at  Port  Eepublic  a  portion 
of  McDowell's  army,  which  had  been  sent 
to  stop  Jackson's  mad  career.  In  thirty- 
five  da^s  Jackson  had  cleared  the  Shen 
andoah  Valley  of  Federal  troops.  This 
valley  was  "the  back  door  to  Washing 
ton  "  and  Lincoln  appreciated  the  danger 
of  leaving  the  capital  unprotected.  He 
therefore  ordered  McDowell  back  to  defend  Washington. 

McClellan  was  thus  left  unaided  to  fight  his  Peninsular  cam 
paign.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  Confederate  commander,  General 
The  Seven  3.  E.  Johnston,  had  been  wounded  and  General  Robert 
Days'  E.  Lee1  had  been  put  in  command  of  the  Army  of 

Northern  Virginia.  On  being  joined  by  Jackson,  Lee 
began  a  series  of  bloody  battles  —  the  Seven  Days'  battles,  they 
are  called.  At  Malvern  Hills,  the  last  of  the  series,  Lee  was 
driven  back.  It  was  the  opinion  that  McClellan  might  have  cap- 

1  ROBERT  E.  LEE  (1807-1870)  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  a  son  of  "Light- 
Horse  Harry"  Lee,  the  Revolutionary  cavalry  leader.  He  was  graduated  from 
West  Point,  and  served  gallantly  in  the  Mexican  War.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War,  President  Lincoln  offered  him  the  command  of  the  United  States 
army,  but  he  answered  that  he  could  not  take  up  arms  against  his  state,  his 
home,  and  his  children.  He  was  appointed  major-general  of  the  Virginia  forces 
in  1861 ;  for  the  last  three  years  of  the  war  he  was  commander  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia.  He  showed  real  military  genius,  and  more  than  once  out 
generaled  Grant  before  his  surrender  at  Appomattox.  He  held  the  lasting 
devotion  of  the  men  who  served  under  him  and  the  high  regard  of  all  who 
knew  him.  From  1865  until  his  death  he  was  president  of  Washington  College 
in  Virginia. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  321 

tured  Richmond  had  he  followed  up  his  advantage,  but  he  did 
not  make  the  attempt. 

Lee  invades  the  North;  Second  Battle  of  Bull  Run;  Antietam; 
Fredericksburg.  —  After  the  failure  to  take  Richmond,  General 
Halleck  was  made  commander-in-chief  of  the  Federal  army,  and 
McClellan  was  ordered  to  join  General  Pope  in  northern  Virginia. 
But  before  he  could  do  so,  Lee  and  Jackson  started  north.  They 
fell  on  Pope  at  Bull  Run,  and  defeated  him  (the  second  battle 
at  that  place),  and  then  pushed  northward  into  Maryland.  It 
was  a  bold  movement ;  General  Lee  had  expected  to  increase  his 
army  by  recruits  from  Maryland  —  but  none  came. 

Then  Pope   and  McClellan   joined   forces.     They  fell  on  Lee 
at  Sharpsburg,  near  Antietam  Creek,  in  Maryland,  and  there  was 
fought  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  of  the  war  (Sep 
tember  17,  1862).      The   Federal   forces  were  about       Antietal 
seventy  thousand  strong ;   Lee  had  about  forty  thou 
sand.     Nevertheless,  Lee  escaped  into  Virginia.     McClellan  was 
censured  for  not  following  Lee  and  destroying  his  army. 

The  command  of^the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  then  given  to 
General  Ambrose  E.  Burnside.  If  McClellan  was  overcautious, 
Burnside  was  certainly  too  rash.  In  the  middle  of  December  he 
threw  his  army  against  Lee  at  Fredericksburg.  Lee  was  strongly 
intrenched,  and  the  result  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Burnside 
was  defeated  with  terrible  losses. 

Because  of  the  meddlesome  advice  of  influential  officials  in 
Washington  the  operations  in  the  East  have  sometimes  been  called 
a  "politicians'  campaign."  Whether  this  criticism  is  deserved  or 
not,  it  is  certain  that  the  result  was  discouraging  to  the  Federal 
troops  and  encouraging  to  the  Confederates.  Nothing  had  been 
accomplished,  while  more  than  fifty  thousand  brave  lives  had  been 
sacrificed.  After  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  both  armies  went 
into  winter  quarters,  watching  each  other  across  the  Rappahannock. 
During  the  temporary  lull  of  fighting,  the  pickets  of  the  opposing 
forces  became  friendly  toward  each  other,  and  many  a  pipeful  of 
tobacco  slipped  across  the  river  between  "  Reb  "  and  "  Yank." 

Emancipation  of  the  Slaves.  —  When  the  war  began,  there  was  no 
intention  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  authorities  to  liberate  the  slaves 


322 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


in  the  seceded  states.  No  other  purpose  was  known  than  to  restore 
and  preserve  the  Union.  The  antislavery  sentiment  grew,  however, 
and  men  of  both  parties  in  the  North  began  to  feel  that  the  slaves 
in  the  seceded  states  should  be  liberated  as  a  necessity  of  .war. 

The  Thirty-seventh  Congress  passed  an  act  abolishing  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  President  Lincoln  signed  the  act 
(April,  1862),  which  was  to  take  effect  at  once.  Compensation 
amounting  to  nearly  $1,000,000  was  paid  to  the  owners  of  the 

slaves.  A  short  time  afterward 
other  acts  were  passed  emanci 
pating  the  slaves  in  the  territories 
and  also  all  slaves  who  escaped 
into  the  lines  of  the  Union  armies. 
President  Lincoln  finally  decided 
that  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  in  the  seceded  TheEmanci. 

states  would  be  a  war  pationProc- 

£  lamation 

measure  ot  great  prac 
tical  utility,  o  Therefore  (Septem 
ber  22,  1862)  he  proclaimed  that 
after  January  1,  1863,  "  All  per 
sons  held  as  slaves  in  any  state 
or  designated  part  of  a  state,  the 
people  whereof  shall  be  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  shall  be 
then,  thenceforth,  arid  forever 
free."  The  seceded  states  did  not 
return  to  the  Union,  and  so,  at  the 
designated  time,  the  slaves  were 
emancipated ;  but  the  proclama 
tion  actually  freed  only  those  slaves  who  could  escape  to  the 
Federal  lines.  The  emancipation  was  declared  to  be  "  warranted 
by  the  Constitution  as  a  military  necessity." 

The  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln  did  not  apply  to  the 

slave  states   of  Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and 

abolished10     Missouri,  as  these  states  had  not  seceded ;  it  did  not 

apply  to  the  western   part   of  Virginia  nor   to  such 


GENERAL  ROBERT  E.  LEE. 


THE   CIVIL    WAR  323 

parts  of  the  Southern  states  as  were  within  the  Union  lines. 
Furthermore,  it  did  not  abolish  slavery  at  all.  The  abolition  of 
slavery  throughout  the  country  could  be  accomplished  only  by 
an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The 
Thirteenth  Amendment  abolishing  slavery  in  the  United  States 
was  finally  submitted  to  the  states  by  the  Congress  early  in  1865. 
During  the  year  it  was  ratified  by  twenty-seven  states,  the  neces 
sary  three  fourths  of  the  entire  number. 

Up  to  this  time  Great  Britain,  although  acknowledging  the 
Confederate  States  as  a  belligerent  power,  had  not  recognized 
their  independence.     The  British  ministry,  however,  The  attitude 
was  nearly  ready  to  do  so.     The  emancipation  of  the  of  Great 
slaves  turned  the  sympathy  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
English  people  in  favor  of  the  North,  and  so  the  independence 
of  the  Confederacy  was  not  recognized. 

Lee  again  invades  the  North ;  Chancellorsville ;  Gettysburg.  —  At 
the  opening  of  the  spring  of  1863,  General  Lee  was  in  readiness 
for  the  movement  that  became  the  turn 
ing  point  of  the  war  —  a  second  invasion 
of  the  North.    In  the  meantime,  General 
Joseph   Hooker   had   been   made   com 
mander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  had  advanced  to  the  rough,  wooded 
region    known    as    "  the    Wilderness." 
Hooker   had   more   than   one    hundred 
thousand   men ;    Lee   had   about   sixty     / 
thousand.      The    two    armies    met    at 
Chancellorsville  (May  2),  with  the  re 
sult  that  Hooker  was  badly   defeated. 

Stonewall  Jackson,  a  braver  man  than  whom  never  donned  a 
uniform,  fell  in  the  fight,  unfortunately  killed  by  his  own  men, 
who  fired  upon  a  part  of  his  command  mistaking  them  for  Federal 
troops.  General  Meade  was  next  put  in  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

As  soon  as  was  possible,  Lee  started  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
crossed  the  Potomac,  and  entered  Pennsylvania.  He  hoped  to  cap 
ture  Baltimore  or  Philadelphia,  and  to  make  the  captured  city 


324 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Lee's  plans 


Gettysburg 


his  base  for  further  operations.  He  had  been  led  to  believe  that5 
m  possession  of  an  important  Northern  city,  the  Confederacy 
might  persuade  the  leading  European  powers  to  recog 
nize  its  independence.  Moreover,  the  reverses  to  the 
Federal  army  had  caused  a  feeling  of  depression  in  the  North, 
and  he  thought  the  possession  of  a  large  Northern  city  might 
lead  the  Federal  government  to  recognize  the  independence  of 
the  Confederate  States. 

General  Meade  at  once  started  to  intercept  Lee,  and  the  two 
armies  met  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.     Lee  found 
Meade's  army  drawn   up  on  a  series  of  hills  called 
Cemetery  Ridge,  with   Gulp's   Hill  and   Cemetery  Hill   at   one 

extreme  and  Round  Top  and 
Little  Round  Top  at  the 
other.  The  battle  raged  for 
three  days  (July  1-3,  1863), 
and  was  the  most  stubbornly 
contested  fight  of  the  war. 
Each  army  was  about  sev 
enty-five  thousand  strong. 
After  two  days  of  fighting, 
the  Confederates  succeeded 
in  taking  Gulp's  Hill,  but 
they  were  soon  dislodged. 
Then  a  terrific  assault  was 
made  on  the  Federal  center 
at  Cemetery  Hill ;  Pickett's 
troops  actually  reached  the 

top  of  the  hill,  but  were  driven  back  by  the  Federals  under  General 
Hancock.  Lee  was  defeated,  but  he  made  a  very  skillful  retreat 
and  got  to  a  safe  position  south  of  the  Potomac.  The  total  losses 
were  more  than  fifty  thousand  killed.  The  battle  of  Gettysburg 
is  generally  regarded  as  the  turning  point  of  the  war.  Thereafter 
the  Confederate  operations  were  almost  wholly  defensive  in  char 
acter.  General  Lee  never  again  attempted  to  invade  the  North. 

West  Virginia  admitted  as  a  Separate  State.     1863.  —  West  Vir 
ginia  was  admitted  as  the  thirty-fifth  state,  on  June  19,  1863, 


THE  BATTLEGROUND  OF  GETTYSBURG. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  325 

The  new  state  was  formed  out  of  the  part  of  Virginia  that  lay 
north  and  west  of  the  high  summits  of  the  Appalachian  Moun 
tains.  The  constitution  and  organization  of  the  state  forbade 
slavery. 

OPENING   THE   MISSISSIPPI 
JANUARY,    1863,    TO    JULY,    1863 

The  Capture  of  Vicksburg.  July  4,  1863,  —  The  fact  that  the 
Mississippi  from  Yicksburg  to  Port  Hudson  was  in  the  control  of 
the  Confederate  forces  prevented  any  great  amount  of  communica 
tion  along  the  river.  Moreover,  of  all  the  places  along  the  river 
held  by  the  Confederates,  Vicksburg  was  the  most  important. 
During  the  fall  of  1862,  General  Grant  had  begun  plans  for  the 
capture  of  the  city  and  had  established  a  depot  of  supplies  at 
Holly  Springs,  a  station  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  that 
could  be  reached  easily  from  either  Memphis  or  Jackson.  Inas 
much  as  the  fortifications  of  Vicksburg  were  on  a  bluff  so 
high  that  the  guns  of  the  river  flotilla  could  not  destroy 
thenij  it  was  necessary  to  plan  the  attack  by  land  as  well  as 
by  water. 

Admiral  Porter  and  General  William  T.  Sherman  had  been 
sent  down  the  river  to  take  a  position  near  Vicksburg ;  Grant 
himself   was   preparing   to   move   his   army  by   rail.  ,          * 
But  during  the  time  of  Bragg' s  raid  into  Kentucky,1  plies  at 
the    Confederate    cavalryman,    General    Van    Dorn,  Holly 
made  a  quick  dash  upon  Holly  Springs  and  destroyed 
all    the    supplies    stored   there.      Their   cash   value   was    about 
$1,500,000,   but   their   value    for    the    particular    occasion   was 
beyond  estimation.     To  add  to  the  discomfiture  of  Grant,  Con 
federate  troops  under  General  Forrest  destroyed  the  only  railway 
by  which  the  supplies  could  be  renewed.     At  that  very  moment 
(December  29,  1862)  Sherman's  troops  were  wading  through  the 
swamps,  charging  the  Confederate  earthworks  on  the  high  bluffs 
at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  five  miles  from  Vicksburgo      The  attack 
was  barren  of  results. 

1  Sec  page  316. 


326 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


of  Vicks- 
burg 


The  city  of  Vicksburg  is  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  opposite  an  oxbow  of  the  river.  A  high  bluff  back 
The  location  °^  tne  G^y  commands  a  long  and  broad  sweep  of  the 
river  and  its  approaches.  About  ten  miles  north  of 
the  city,  on  the  Yazoo,  is  Haines  Bluff.  This  bluff 
was  fortified  as  strongly  as  earthworks  and  guns  could  make 

it.  East  and  south 
of  the  city  the  land  is 
high ;  west  and  north 
it  is  low  and  swampy. 
Sluggish  bayous  flow  out 
of  the  river  and,  after 
forming  a  network  of 
swales,  flow  into  the 
river  again  farther  down. 
During  the  spring  nearly 
all  this  bottom  land  is 
covered  at  times  with 
the  overflow  of  the  river. 
General  Grant's  efforts 
to  capture  the  city  lasted 
from  January  to  July, 
and  they  constitute  a 
remarkable  event  of 
military  history.  He 
could  not  hope  to  make  an  assault  upon  the  city  from  the  river ; 
The  dim-  the  n°tilla  could  not  train  its  guns  against  the  earth- 
cuitycf  works,  while  it  could  be  reached  by  a  destructive 
fire.  The  plans,  one  after  another,  devised  by 
his  superiors  in  office  proved  of  no  value.1  Then  Grant  took 


THE  VICKSBURG  CAMPAIGN. 


1  Between  January  and  the  middle  of  May,  four  plans  were  tried :  1.  Williams 
"canal"  was  dug  across  the  loop  opposite  the  city,  in  order  to  divert  the  river. 
A  freshet  in  the  river  destroyed  the  canal.  2.  It  was  planned  to  take  the  gunboats 
by  way  of  Red  River  up  through  a  network  of  bayous,  opening  through  Lake  Provi 
dence  into  the  Mississippi.  The  engineers  were  clearing  this  channel  when  the 
plan  was  abandoned.  3.  The  levee  at  Yazoo  Pass  was  blown  up,  and  a  channel 
down  the  Yazoo  was  cleared  halfway  to  Vicksburg.  The  Confederate  earthworks 
at  Fort  Pemberton  put  a  stop  to  this  plan.  4.  Work  was  begun  on  a  similar 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


327 


matters  in  his  own  hands.  The  supplies  were  put  on  transports, 
and  Admiral  Porter  ran  them  down  the  river  past  the  batteries, 
through  a  terrific  fire.  By  the  end  of  March,  Grant  had  marched 
his  entire  army  down  the  west  side  of  the  river  to  Bruin sburg, 
where  Porter  had  landed  the  supplies. 

At  that  point  Grant  crossed  the  river  and  defeated  the  Confed 
erates  at  Grand  Gulf.  Cutting  loose  from  the  supplies  and  depend 
ing  on  the  surrounding  country  for  provisions,  Grant 
and  Sherman  then  headed  for  Jackson,  Mississippi. 
From  Jackson  they  fought  their  way  westward  along 
the  line  of  the  railroad,  until  they  had  driven  the  Confederate 
army  into  Vicksburg.  For  the  next  forty-five  days  it  was  simply 
a  matter  of  waiting  and  of 
keeping  the  Confederates 
closely  shut  within  the  city. 
And  the  same  day  (July  4, 
1863)  that  General  Lee  turned 
backward  into  Virginia  after 
the  terrific  fight  at  Gettys 
burg,  General  Pemberton 
surrendered  the  famine- 
stricken  city  of  Vicksburg 
to  Grant.  It  was  the  great 
est  military  capitulation  of 
modern  warfare  up  to  that 
time. 

Port  Hudson.  — While 
Vicksburg  was  suffering  the 
pangs  of  starvation,  General 
Banks  was  besieging  Port 

Hudson,  some  miles  down  the  river.  After  the  fall  of  Vicksburg 
the  Confederate  garrison  at  Port  Hudson,  which  had  withstood 

channel  through  the  Big  Sunflower  Bayou,  which  offered  a  possible  passage. 
The  Confederates  blocked  this  passage  also.  In  the  main  these  plans  were  pre 
pared  by  politicians  and  amateur  "generals  "  at  Washington.  The  plan  finally 
followed  was  disapproved  at  Washington,  but  Grant  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
destroy  the  telegraph  Hues,  and  did  not  receive  his  orders  until  Vicksburg  was 
invested. 


GENERAL  U.  S.  GRANT. 


328  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

two  attacks  and  a  siege  of  six  weeks,  saw  that  further  resistance 
was  hopeless.     The  place  was  surrendered  on  July  9th. 

Results  of  the  Campaign.  —  The  capture  of  Vicksburg  and  Port 
Hudson  had  effects  that  were  very  far-reaching.  The  winning  of 
these  two  places  gave  to  the  Federal  authorities  the  control  of 
the  Mississippi  from  source  to  mouth.  It  cut  the  Confederate 
States  in  twain.  It  shut  off  a  large  part  of  the  cotton  crop  that 
had  furnished  much  of  the  revenue  to  the  Confederate  govern 
ment.  The  moral  effect  on  the  Northern  people  was  very  great. 
The  long  list  of  reverses  had  created  a  feeling  of  depression,  and 
for  the  first  time  the  condition  of  affairs  began  to  look  hopeful. 
The  Southern  people  did  not  lose  confidence,  however. 


THE   CAMPAIGN  IN  TENNESSEE   AND   GEORGIA 
JULY,  1863,  TO  JULY,  1864 

The  Situation  in  1863.  —  After  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro l 
(December  31,  1862)  there  were  no  decisive  military  operations 
in  Tennessee  and  Georgia  for  six  months.  Both  armies  had  been 
terribly  weakened  by  the  dreadful  slaughter  of  battle,  and  all 
troops  that  could  be  spared  were  sent  to  strengthen  the  forces  in 
Virginia  or  in  the  Mississippi  ,Valley.2  In  Tennessee  there  was  a 
Confederate  stronghold  of  great  importance  —  Chattanooga.  The 
position  of  the  city  is  such  that  it  commands  the  one  natural 

1  See  page  316. 

2  By  this  time  the  problem  of  getting  men  fit  for  service  had  become  a  serious 
one.     In  the  North  the  authorities  had  already  resorted  to  conscription,  and  every 
county  of  each  state  was  required  to  furnish  its  quota,  or  proportion,  of  troops. 
In  New  York  City,  where  there  was  a  large  foreign  population  controlled  by  un 
scrupulous  demagogues,  serious  riots  occurred  and   more  than  twelve  hundred 
rioters  were  killed.    The  Federal  authorities  enlisted  about  one  hundred  eighty 
thousand  negroes,  and  they  made  good  soldiers.     In  the  South  the  conscription 
was  also  employed,  and  it  finally  included  all  able-bodied  men  between  the  ages 
of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years.     Loss  of  troops  by  capture  crippled  the  Confed 
erate  fighting  force  far  more  than  it  hurt  the  Federal  army.    The  condition  of 
the  Southern  prison  camps  was  horrible.    The  Confederate  authorities  refused  to 
exchange  white  soldiers  for  negroes ;  as  a  result,  it  became  necessary  to  estab 
lish  great  prison  pens  for  captives  of  war  on  both  sides. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  329 

highway  between  Tennessee  and  Georgia ;  it  was  at  that  time  the 
chief  railway  center  of  the  South. 

Chickamauga.     September  19,   1863.  —  In  June    General   Rose- 
crans  advanced  from  Murfreesboro  and  began  a  series  of  move 
ments  that  forced  General  Bragg  to  leave  Chattanooga  and  take  a 
new  position  at  Chickamauga  Creek,  Georgia,  a  few  miles  south 
of  Chattanooga.     General  Rosecrans  fol 
lowed  him.  and  gave  battle  (September 
19).     One  wing  of  the   Federal   army 
was  driven  back  during  the  second  day  ; 
the  other  wing,  commanded  by  General 
Thomas,  one  of  the  great  characters  of 
the    war,    held   firm   and    prevented    a 
disastrous  defeat.1     As  a  result  of  the 
battle  the  Federal  troops  were  penned 
in  Chattanooga  by  General  Bragg  and 
cut   oft'  from  communication  with  the 
rest  Of  the   army.  GENERAL  G.  H.  THOMAS. 

Chattanooga,  Missionary  Ridge,  and  Lookout  Mountain.  Novem 
ber,  1863.  —  Two  high  cliffs,  —  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout 
Mountain,  —  where  the  Tennessee  River  breaks  through  the 
southern  Appalachian  ranges,  overlook  the  city  of  Chattanooga. 
General  Bragg's  troops  held  them,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed 
likely  that  the  Federal  army  in  the  city  would  be  starved  into 
surrendering.2 

In  the  meantime,  General  Grant  saw  the  serious  condition  of 
matters  and  took  command,  summoning  troops  from  east  and 
west.  By  the  last  week  in  November  he  had  succeeded  in  getting 
food  and  ammunition  into  the  city  and  was  ready  for  attack. 
Sherman  and  Thomas  made  an  attack  on  Missionary  Ridge,  and 
the  latter  captured  it  by  a  hand-to-hand  conflict.  At  the  same 
time  General  Hooker  assailed  Lookout  Mountain,  and  at  its  crest 
was  fought  the  famous  "  battle  above  the  clouds  "  (November  24, 

1  For  his  skill  and  gallantry  that  day  Thomas  won   the  title  "  the  Rock  of 
Chickamauga." 

2  Several  thousand  horses  and  mules  actually  starved  to  death.    There  was  but 
a  single  road  open  to  the  Federal  lines  and  this  was  practically  impassable. 


330 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


1863).  These  terrific  assaults  broke  Bragg's  strength  and  de 
stroyed  the  strength  of  his  army.  With  the  remnant  he  retreated 
to  Dalton,  Georgia.  By  the  capture  of  Chattanooga,  the  Federal 
army  had  gained  practically  the  remainder  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley. 

Final  Plans.  —  There  remained  only  two  Confederate  forces  of 
importance  —  General  Johnston's  army  at  Dalton  and  General 
Lee's  in  Virginia.  Early  in  the  spring 
plans  for  the  final  campaign  were  arranged 
by  General  Grant,  to  whom  had  been 
given  command  of  the  entire  Federal 
army,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general. 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia  were 
the  only  remaining  states  held  by  the 
Confederacy.  It  was  determined  that 
Sherman  should  force  a  passage  eastward 
across  Georgia  to  the  coast,  while  Grant 
should  march  upon  Lee  and  hold  him  at 
Richmond  until  Sherman  could  reach  the 
Confederate  capital  from  the  south. 

The  Campaign  in  Georgia.  —  Early  in  May,  1864,  with  about 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  General  Sherman  moved  against  the 
Confederate  forces  at  Dalton,  and  drove  them  step  by  step  toward 
Atlanta.  There  were  hard-fought  battles  at  Resaca, 
at  Dallas,  and  at  Kenesaw  Mountain.  In  handling  his 
army,  General  Johnston  displayed  great  skill,  but  circumstances 
were  against  him.  The  Confederate  authorities  replaced  him  by 
General  Hood,  and  the  latter  made  several  savage  attacks  upon 
Sherman  only  to  suffer  defeat.  Sherman  took  possession  of 
Atlanta,  and  gathered  his  forces  there. 

When  ready  for  his  long  march,  Sherman  left  General  Thomas 
to  take  care  of  Hood's  army,  and  started  for  Savannah  (Novem- 
Sherman's  ^er  12).  His  army  moved  in  four  columns,  covering  a 
march  to  path  sixty  miles  in  width.  In  order  to  prevent  any 
Confederate  force  from  following,  he  burned  bridges 
and  destroyed  the  railways  and  everything  else  that  might  be 
used  against  him.  It  was  a  cruel  thing ;  but  it  was  war.  By  the 


GENERAL  SHERMAN. 


Atlanta 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


331 


middle  of  December  he  had  captured  the  outposts  of  Savannah. 
A  week  later  he  captured  the  city  itself,  with  a  large  store  of 
ammunition  and  twenty-five  thousand  bales  of  cotton  (Decem 
ber  21).  There  Sherman  went  into  winter  quarters. 


SHERMAN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  GEORGIA. 

In  the  meantime  General  Thomas   had   followed   Hood   into 
Tennessee  and  the  two  armies  came  together  at  Nash 
ville  in  a  desperate  battle  (December  15, 1864).    Hood's 
army  was  cut  to  pieces  and  was  practically  wiped  out  of  existence. 


Nashville 


THE   CLOSING   CAMPAIGNS   IN   VIRGINIA 
MAY,  1864,  TO  APRIL,  1865 

Battles  of  the  Wilderness.  May,  1864.  —  By  this  time  General 
Lee  had  gathered  all  the  troops  that  could  be  mustered,  and  they 
were  ready  for  the  final  campaign  before  the  Confederate  capital. 
Early  in  May  of  1864,  General  Grant  crossed  the  Rapidan  and 
entered  the  Wilderness.1  Almost  from  the  moment  he  began 

1  It  was  the  same  region  in  which  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville  had  been  fought 
just  about  a  year  previous. 


382  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

his  march,  there  was  bloody  fighting,  and  for  a  time  it  was  inces 
sant  (May  5-7).  The  timber  and  the  undergrowth  prevented 
anything  like  the  strategic  movement  of  troops;  the  opposing 
forces  simply  mowed  each  other  down  with  a  most  deadly  fire. 
Just  at  a  time  when  his  staff  officers  thought  that  a  retreat  across 
the  Rapidan  was  inevitable,  Grant  ordered  a  forward  movement 
and  advanced  to  Spottsylvania. 

Spottsylvania ;  Cold  Harbor ;  Petersburg.  May  to  August,  1864.  — 
General  Lee  stubbornly  resisted  every  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Federal  army  to  move  forward,  and  five  days  of  desperate  fight 
ing  about  Spottsylvania  gave  to  neither  side  any  material  advan 
tage.  Then  the  Confederate  forces  moved  back  to  Cold  Harbor, 
where  there  were  strong  intrenchments.  General  Grant  tried  to 
take  the  fortifications  by  a  direct  attack,  but  his  troops  were 
repelled  with  a  terrible  slaughter  (June  3).  Then,  by  a  flank 
movement,  he  hurried  his  army  past  Richmond  to  Petersburg,  an 
outpost  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Confederate  capital.  But  Lee 
moved  his  army  even  more  rapidly,  and  was  behind  the  fortifi 
cations  at  Petersburg  before  Grant  reached  the  place. 

From  that  time  the  campaign  became  a  siege.  The  two 
armies  had  lost  each  about  fifty  thousand  men,  and  there  had 
been  practically  no  gain  oil  either  side.  The  war  had  reached 
a  stage  of  desperation,  and  human  life  counted  for  but  little. 
During  the  siege  before  Petersburg,  a  mine  had  been  dug  under 
a  Confederate  fort  and  the  latter  was  blown  up.  The  explosion 
of  the  mine  was  followed  by  an  assault  by  the  Federal  troops, 
but  fearing  that  the  ground  in  front  of  them  was  mined,  they 
hesitated  for  a  moment  when  they  reached  the  breach  or  "  crater  " 
made  by  the  explosion.  At  this,  the  Confederates  concentrated  a 
most  deadly  fire  upon  them,  with  the  result  that  about  four 
thousand  of  the  Federal  force  were  slain  (July  30). 

Early 's  Raid  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  —  About  this  time  Lee 
sent  General  Jubal  Early  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  threaten 
Washington.  Early  made  a  brilliant  dash,  and  at  one  time  was 
within  six  miles  of  the  city.  He  also  crossed  into  Pennsylvania 
and  burnt  the  city  of  Chambersburg.  In.  the  meantime,  he  helped 
himself  liberally  to  cattle,  horses,  provisions,  and  everything  else 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


333 


that  was  needed  by  his  troops.  The  object  of  the  raid  was  to 
divert  General  Grant's  attention  from  the 'siege  of  Richmond. 
This  it  accomplished.  Grant  detached  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan 
from  the  forces  before  Kichmond  and  sent  him  to  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  with  orders  to  destroy  everything  that  could  possibly  be 
used  for  the  support  of  Early's  troops,  thereby  preventing  his 
stay  in  the  valley.  After  the  work  was  accomplished,  a  crow 
could  hardly  have  lived  there. 

Cedar  Creek ;  Sheridan's  Ride.  —  During  the  maneuvers  of  the 
two  armies,  Sheridan  defeated  Early  at  Winchester  (September 
19)  and  again  at  Fishers  Hill.  Then 
Early  got  reinforcements  and  fell  on 
the  troops  at  Cedar  Creek  while  Sheri 
dan  was  absent  at  Winchester  (October 
19).  The  Federal  troops  were  thrown 
into  confusion,  and  began  a  retreat  that 
was  almost  a  rout.  Sheridan  heard 
the  firing  and  guessed  what  was  taking 
place.  In  two  hours  he  galloped  his 
horse  from  Winchester,  twenty  miles 
distant,  turned  the  retreating  soldiers, 
reformed  his  lines,  and  began  a  most 
vigorous  attack.  Early's  force  was 
defeated  and  routed.  In  that  brief 
campaign  more  than  thirty  thousand  men  gave  up  their  lives. 
Smoking  ruins  and  burnt  fields  were  all  that  was  left  of  the 
beautiful  Shenandoah  Valley. 

The  Fall  of  Richmond.  April,  1865.  —  By  the  beginning  of  1865 
the  Confederate  government  was  in  a  desperate  situation.  Alex 
ander  H.  Stephens,  vice-president  of  the  Confederacy,  met  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  on  board  a  United  States  warship  at  Hampton 
Roads  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  terms  of  peace.  The  terms 
which  President  Lincoln  offered  were  the  surrender  and  disband 
ing  of  the  Confederate  army  and  the  abolition  of  slavery.  To 
these  terms  the  Confederate  government  refused  to  agree. 

General  Grant  had  now  closed  in  upon  Petersburg.  The  siege 
of  Petersburg,  which  was  virtually  the  siege  of  Richmond,  was 


GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 


334  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


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LEE'S  LETTER  TO  GRANT  REGARDING  THE  SURRENDER. 

carried  on  for  several  months  without  advantage  to  either  side. 
In  the  meantime,  Grant's  generals  were  carrying  out  his  plans. 
Sherman  had  crossed  the  Carolinas,  and  had  captured  and  destroyed 
Columbia  (February  17).  He  had  defeated  General  Johnston  at 
Averysboro  and  Bentonville,  in  North  Carolina.  Sheridan  had 
inflicted  a  heavy  blow  at  Five  Forks,  Virginia,  capturing  the  Con- 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  835 

federate  artillery.  Early  in  April  the  main  part  of  the  works  at 
Petersburg  were  carried ;  immediately  afterward  Lee  evacuated 
Petersburg  and  Richmond  (April  3,  1865),  and  the  Federal  troops 
took  possession  of  the  Confederate  capital. 

Lee's  Surrender.  April  9,  1865.  —  It  was  Lee's  hope  to  break 
through  the  Federal  lines  and  join  Johnston's  forces  in  North 
Carolina.  Grant  pursued  him  closely,  however,  and  cut  off  his 
retreat.  His  army  was  without  food,  and  there  was  but  one  thing 
he  could  do  —  surrender.  At  Appomattox,  April  9,  1865,  Grant 
received  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia.1  He  returned  to  General  Lee  his  sword.  Then  he  ordered 
five  days'  rations  issued  to  Lee's  soldiers  and  sent  them  off  to 
their  farms.  Those  who  had  horses  or  mules  were  permitted  to 
keep  them.  There  were  a  few  minor  conflicts  elsewhere  in  the 
South ;  then  the  Civil  War  was  ended. 

As  soon  as  Richmond  was  evacuated,  the  officers  of  the  Con 
federate  government  fled  in  various  directions  toward  the  coast, 
hoping  to  escape  by  vessels.  Jefferson  Davis,  the  president,  went 
into  Georgia  and  was  captured  at  Irwinsville  (May  10).  He  was 
taken  to  Fortress  Monroe,  Virginia,  and  there  confined  until  1867. 
Subsequently,  he  was  released  on  bail,  but  neither  he  nor  the 
other  officers  of  the  Confederacy  were  ever  prosecuted.2 


NAVAL    WORK   OF   THE    CIVIL   WAR 

1801  TO  1805 

The  Navies,  Federal   and    Confederate.  —  When  the   Civil   War 
began,  the  total  number  of  vessels  constituting  the  United  States 

1  Seventeen  days  after  Lee's  surrender  General  J.  E.  Johnston  surrendered  his 
forces  to  Sherman,  and  within  the  next  month  the  few  scattered  forces  elsewhere 
surrendered.     The  statistics  of  the  War  Department  give  twenty-eight  thousand 
as  the  number  of  Lee's  army  that  surrendered  at  Appomattox  ;  according  to  Con 
federate  statistics  the  number  was  somewhat  smaller.   There  was  an  entire  absence 
of  animosity  on  the  part  of  the  soldiers  of  the  two  armies. 

2  The  keeper  of  the  military  prison  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  was  court- 
martialed  for  the  inhuman  treatment  of  Federal  soldiers  who  were  captives  of  war. 
He  was  convicted  and  hanged. 


336  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

navy,  available  for  immediate  use,  was  thirteen  —  seven  steam 
vessels,  one  tug,  and  five  sailing  vessels.  There  were  seventeen 
ships  in  foreign  ports,  but  to  recall  them  required  weeks  and 
even  months.  All  vessels  were  at  once  summoned  home,  however, 
and  additional  vessels  were  purchased  or  were  built.  Including 
the  craft  designed  for  service  on  the  rivers,  a  fleet  of  about  four 
hundred  vessels  were  fitted,  armed,  and  put  into  service  during 
the  war. 

The  Confederacy  was  as  badly  off;  not  only  were  the  war 
authorities  without  ships,  but  there  were  no  shipbuilding  plants 
or  the  machine  shops  necessary  for  their  construction.  The 
Southern  states  grew  about  five  million  bales  of  cotton  each 
year,  however,  and  if  this  could  be  delivered  to  England  and 
other  European  markets,  it  would  bring  to  the  Confederate 
treasury  many  million  dollars  yearly.  With  the  proceeds  of  the 
cotton  the  Confederate  authorities  could  purchase  all  the  muni 
tions  of  war  they  might  need. 

The  Blockade.  —  To  prevent  this  trade,  therefore,  was  an  im 
portant  object  of  the  Federal  authorities.  In  April,  1861,  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  proclaimed  a  blockade1  of  the  coast  of  the  Confederate 
states,  and  armed  cruisers  were  stationed  about  the  various  ports 
from  Virginia  to  Texas.  All  foreign  vessels  were  forbidden  to  enter 
or  to  leave  these  ports  under  penalty  of  confiscation.  The  blockade 
became  effective  in  a  short  time ;  nevertheless,  it  did  not  deter 
adventurous  sailors  from  undertaking  the  very  risky  enterprise  of 
attempting  to  run  the  blockade.  If  successful,  it  was  tremen 
dously  profitable.  Because  of  the  blockade,  cotton  was  worth 
from  five  to  eight  cents  a  pound  in  Wilmington,  North  Carolina ; 
in  Liverpool,  it  brought  from  fifty  to  sixty  cents,  and  sometimes 
more. 

The  Blockade  Runners.  —  The  blockade  runners  were  built  espe 
cially  for  the  business.  They  were  of  light  draught,  and  could 
easily  thread  their  way  through  channels  too  shallow  for  their 

1  The  right  to  proclaim  a  blockade  is  recognized  among  nations  and  in  inter 
national  law.  To  be  effective,  however,  there  must  be  an  actual  and  not  merely 
a  "  paper  "  blockade.  Vessels  entering  or  leaving  a  blockaded  port  do  so  at  their 
own  risk.  Either  one  of  two  powers  at  war  may  search  a  suspected  vessel  on  the 
high  sea,  and  seize  munitions  of  war  destined  for  the  other. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  337 

pursuers ;  they  could  also  ride  safely  over  obstructions  that  might 
hinder  other  vessels.  Their  low  freeboards  were  painted  a  dirty 
gray,  which  made  them  almost  invisible  at  a  distance  of  a  few 
miles ;  and  to  make  them  less  easy  to  be  seen,  the  smokestack  was 
removed  when  the  danger  zone  was  reached.  They  burned  smoke 
less  coal,  so  that  there  was  no  tell-tale  smoke  band  to  mark  the 
vessel's  track.  They  were  also  speedier  than  the  blockading 
vessels. 

The  vessel's  run  was  timed  so  as  to  reach  the  port  of  destina 
tion  at  high  tide,  in  the  dark  of  the  moon.  Then,  if  not  captured 
or  sunk,  she  would  make  a  dash  for  the  port,  sell  her  cargo,  take 
one  of  cotton  in  return,  and  watch  her  chance  to  escape.1  The 
profitable  character  of  the  business  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  blockade  runners  were  captured  or 
sunk. 

The  Confederate  Commerce  Destroyers.  —  The  Confederate  authori 
ties  succeeded  in  inflicting  a  great  deal  of  damage  on  the  com 
merce  of  the  United  States  during  the  war,  and  the  greater  part 
of  it  was  accomplished  by  steamships  built  in  Liverpool.  They 
were  probably  the  best  vessels  ever  built  for  the  purpose  up  to 
that  time.2  Several  of  them  were  superior  in  speed  to  the  best 
ships  of  the  Federal  navy. 

The  Sumter  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  destroyers  to  go  into 
commission.  She  cruised  about  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  destroyed 
a  score  of  merchant  ships.  She  was  finally  chased  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  into  the  harbor  of  Gibraltar,  where  she  was  sold  in 
order  to  escape  capture.  • 

1  Because  of  their  convenient  position,  the  Bahamas  became  naturally  the 
center  of  the  blocade-running  business,  and  most  of  it  was  carried  on  from  Nassau, 
the  port  and  chief  town  of  New  Providence  Island.    To  this  port  merchandise 
or  even  munitions  of  war  might  be  lawfully  sent  from  any  other  place  without 
risk.    It  was  Great  Britain's  duty  to  see  that  none  of  the  munitions  should  be  sent 
from  Nassau  to  either  belligerent,  but  she  did  not  do  so.    Nassau  is  within  easy 
reach  of  the  Gulf  and  the  South  Atlantic  ports;  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
then  a  very  important  Confederate  port,  the  distance  was  about  five  hundred 
miles  —  less  than  two  days'  run. 

2  There  were  about  twenty  of  these  destroyers.     Three  of  them,  the  Georgia, 
the  Tallahassee,  and  the  Tacony,  captured  or  destroyed  about  fifty  merchant- 


338  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Her  master,  Semmes,  then  took  command  of  the  Alabama. 
This  vessel  was  built  in  England,  with  English  capital,  manned 
The  Ala-  w^n  an  English  crew,  and  left  Liverpool  flying  the 
bamaandthe  English  flag,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  American 
earsarge  minister.  Her  officers  were  officers  of  the  Confederate 
navy.  During  the  two  years  of  her  existence,  she  cruised  in  the 
Atlantic  and  captured  sixty-six  merchant  vessels.  In  June,  1864, 
she  was  overhauled  in  the  harbor  of  Cherbourg,  a  French  port  on 

the  English  Channel, 
by  the  Kearsarge.  A 
challenge  to  fight 
was  sent  by  her  com 
mander  to  Captain 
Winslow  of  the  Kear 
sarge.  The  challenge 
was  promptly  accepted, 
and  after  a  hot  con 
flict  the  Alabama 

was    sunk    (June    19, 
THE  ALABAMA.  ISPzH 

The  Slienandoali  had  been  a  steamship  plying  between  London 
and  Bombay.  She  wras  purchased  and  refitted  as  a  commerce  de 
stroyer,  her  guns  being  delivered  to  her  by  a  British  ship  at  an 
uninhabited  island  near  Madeira.  The  Slienandoali  cruised  about 
the  Pacific,  where  she  captured  or  destroyed  thirty-eight  vessels, 
mainly  whaling  ships  and  vessels  in  the  China  trade.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  sh«  was  returned  to  the  British  authorities. 
The  Florida?  another  of  the  active  commerce  destroyers,  was 
built  in  Liverpool  and  armed  in  the  Bahamas. 

It  is  not  often  that  the  British  government  has  been  concerned  in 

1  The  Florida  was  discovered  in  the  harbor  of  Bahia,  Brazil,  by  the  Wachusett. 
The  commander  of  the  latter  entered  the  harbor,  captured  the  vessel,  and  towed 
her  out,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  Brazilian  authorities.  To  enter  a  neutral 
harbor  and  capture  a  vessel  was  a  gross  violation  of  international  law;  and  so 
the  act  was  disavowed  by  the  Federal  government,  and  the  vessel  was  ordered 
to  be  returned  with  an  apology.  The  apology  reached  the  Brazilian  authorities, 
but  the  vessel  did  not;  she  was  sunk  by  an  alleged  accident.  Altogether  it  was 
a  (li.u-reditable  piece  of  work. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


339 


The  Virginia 


unfair  practices,  even  in  time  of  war.  In  fitting  out  these  destroyers, 
however,  the  authorities  openly  violated  the  laws  of  neutrality ; 
in  the  end,  they  were  compelled  to  pay  a  round  sum  for  it.1 

The  Ironclads.  —  The  work  of  the  two  navies  on  inland  waters 
was  unique  ;  nothing  approaching  it  had  ever  occurred  before  in 
the  history  of  warfare.  The  gunboat  flotillas  built  by  both  parties 
to  the  conflict  proved  to  have  excellent  fighting  qualities.  They 
were  of  light  draught,  and  their  sloping  sides,  well  armored  with 
iron,  resisted  the  fire  of  the  enemy  so  well  that  only  point  blank 
shots  at  short  range  were  likely  to  penetrate  the  vessel.2 

Just  before  the  beginning  of  hostilities,  the  steam  frigate 
Merrimac  was  undergoing  repairs  at  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  in 
Virginia.  Rather  than  to  permit  this  vessel  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Confederate  authorities,  the  comman 
dant  of  the  navy  yard  set  fire  to  her.  When  the  Confederate 
authorities  got  pos 
session  of  the  navy 
yard,  it  was  found 
that  the  hull  and 
engines  of  the  sunken 
Merrimac  wrere  un 
injured.  The  hull 
was  raised  and  on  the 
deck  was  built  a 
house  work,  the  four 
sides  of  which  sloped 
to  an  edge.  This  bul 
wark  consisted  of 
timbers  two  feet 
thick  plated  with  an  iron  armor  four  inches  thick.  The  recon 
structed  vessel  was  armed,  commissioned,  and  renamed  the  Virginia. 

1  See  page  360. 

2  The  idea  of  iron  armor  was  not  new.     In  1860  the  British  Admiralty  had  built 
the  Warrior,  and  had  plated  her  with  an  armor  of  iron  four  and  one  half  inches 
thick.     This  had  been  done  because  armor  plates  had  already  been  put  on  four 
French  warships.    The  matter  of  armor-plated  ships  had,  therefore,  become  one 
of  world-wide  interest.    The   Warrior  was  considered  by  far  the  most  powerful 
fighting  machine  in  existence. 


THE  VIRGINIA. 


340 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


The  Monitor 


THE  MONITOR. 


About  four  months  after  the  construction  of  the  Virginia, 
John  Ericsson l  made  a  contract  with  the  Federal  authorities  for 
an  iron  vessel  unique  in  character,  which  was  deliv 
ered  to  the  government  early  in  1862.  The  greater 
part  of  her  hull  was  below  the  water  line ;  there  was  less  than 
three  feet  above  water.  A  low  conning  tower  projected  above 

the  armored  deck,  and 
from  the  grating  of 
this  the  helmsman 
could  see  to  steer  the 
vessel.  A  midship 
there  was  a  revolving 
turret  containing  two 
eleven-inch  guns.  The 
vessel  was  named  the  Monitor.  She  was  insignificant  in  appear 
ance  and  no  one  had  much  confidence  in  her  fighting  power. 

The  Great  Naval  Duel.  1862.  —  In  March,  1862,  the  Virginia  was 
ordered  to  destroy  the  vessels  that  were  blockading  the  Virginia 
coast.  Her  first  attempt  was  directed  against  the  vessels  stationed 
in  Hampton  Roads.  She  deliberately  steamed  up  to  the  Cumber 
land,  rammed  a  great  hole  in  her  side,  and  poured  a  murderous 
broadside  into  her  as  she  pulled  away.  The  Cumberland  sank  in 
a  very  few  minutes.  Then  the  Virginia  made  for  the  Congress. 
In  the  first  two  or  three  broadsides  the  Congress  caught  fire  and 
burned  furiously ;  then  the  vessel  surrendered.  By  this  time  it 
was  dark,  and  the  Virginia  drew  away,  intending  in  the  morning 
to  sink  the  Minnesota,  the  Roanoke,  and  the  St.  Laivrence.  After 
that  Washington,  New  York,  and  the  other  great  ports  of  the 
North  were  at  her  mercy. 

In  the  meantime  the  Monitor  had  been  dispatched  to  Hampton 
Eoads.  She  reached  the  Roads  after  a  most  stormy  passage  of 
The  battle  of  ^ty  hours,  during  which  more  than  once  she  seemed 
Hampton  certain  to  founder.  It  was  nearly  daylight  when  she 
steamed  alongside  the  Minnesota,  but  there  was  no 
time  to  give  her  crew  the  rest  they  so  much  needed.  When  day- 


1  He  was  an  engineer  of  Swedish  birth,  then  living  in  New  York.    The  iron 
clad  was  built  at  Greenpoint,  Long  Island. 


THE  CIVIL    WAE  341 

light  canie,  the  Virginia  steamed  for  the  Minnesota)  but  the 
Monitor  took  up  the  fight  in  good  earnest.  The  Virginia  poured 
broadside  after  broadside  against  her  antagonist,  but  the  shot 
glanced  harmlessly  from  the  Monitor's  turret.  A  shot  that 
crumbled  against  the  grating  of  the  conning  tower  disabled 
Lieutenant  Worden,  her  commander,  but  did  no  other  damage. 
Several  times  the  Virginia  tried  to  ram  the  Monitor,  and  once  she 
ran  over  the  latter' s  bow ;  but  the  blow  that  would  have  sunk  a 
wooden  frigate  did  not  harm  the  Monitor.  For  about  three  hours 
it  was  almost  a  muzzle-to-muzzle  battle.  Then  the  Virginia  drew 
away.  She  had  failed  to  destroy  the  rest  of  the  fleet ;  moreover, 
she  was  powerless  to  do  further  damage.1 

The  naval  battle  of  two  days  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the 
best  of  wooden  warships  could  not  stand  for  a  moment  against 
such  a  fighting  machine  as  either  the  Monit'or  or  the  Virginia. 
Point-blank  broadsides,  even  at  a  distance  of  a  few  yards,  scarcely 
dented  either  the  Monitor  or  the  Virginia,  while  a  single  fortunate 
shot  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  might  penetrate  and  sink  a  wooden 
ship.  The  naval  authorities  of  the  United  States  learned  the 
lesson  well.  Coast  defense  vessels  of  the  Monitor  type  have  an 
important  place  in  the  American  navy,  and  the  revolving  turret 
is  a  part  of  the  construction  of  every  battleship. 

Results  of  Naval  Operations  on  the  Coast.  —  The  coast  opera 
tions  of  the  navy  were  confined  mainly  to  the  enforcement  of 
the  blockade.  The  chief  offensive  work  consisted  of  the  occupa 
tion  of  the  various  defenses  about  Palmico  and  Albemarle  sounds, 
and  the  capture  of  Port  Royal  in  the  latter  part  of  1861. 2  After 
the  evacuation  of  Norfolk  by  the  Confederates,  the  Federal  navy 
controlled  the  greater  part  of  the  coast  from  Norfolk  to  Florida. 
Pensacola,  the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  New 
Orleans  were  captured  during  the  spring  of  1862.  An  attack 

1  Both  vessels  were  undeserving  of  the  fate  that  overtook  them.    The  Monitor, 
which  was  never  built  for  deep-sea  sailing,  was  unseaworthy  in  bad  weather. 
She  foundered  shortly  afterward  in  a  storm  off  Cape  Hatteras,  and  a  number  of 
her  crew  went  down  with  her.    When  the  Confederate  forces  abandoned  Norfolk, 
it  was  found  that  the  Virginia  drew  too  much  water  to  get  up  the  James  River 
to  a  place  of  safety ;  she  was  therefore  blown  up. 

2  See  page  311. 


342  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

looking  to  the  capture  of  Charleston  was  made  in  April,  1863 ; 
Fort  Sn niter  and  some  of  the  near-by  fortifications  were  destroyed, 
but  the  Federal  forces  failed  to  take  the  city.  Wilmington  and 
its  fortifications,  the  objective  point  of  most  blockade  runners, 
were  not  captured  until  a  few  months  before  the  surrender  of  Lee.1 

FINANCING  THE   WAR 

The  Cofet  of  the  War.  —  Carrying  on  the  war  cost  the  Federal 
government  an  average  of  very  nearly  $2,000,000  a  day  for  a 
period  of  four  years.  At  its  high-water  mark  (August  1,  1865) 
the  national  debt  was  not  far  from  $2,850,000,000.  When  the 
pensions  and  other  indirect  expenses  are  added,  the  cost  of  the 
war  was  not  less  than  $6,000,000,000.  This  debt,  principal  and 
interest,  for  the  greater  part  was  to  be  paid  in  gold. 

The  government  was  compelled  to  do  what  an  individual  does 
when  he  requires  more  money  than  he  has  in  possession  —  it  bor 
rowed.  For  some  of  the  expenditures,  especially  those  paid  in 
foreign  countries,  gold  and  silver  were  required,  as  these  bills 
were  to  be  paid  cash  down.  For  this  purpose,  the  coin  in  circu 
lation  throughout  the  North  was  very  quickly  gathered  in  and 
sent  to  the  Treasury.2  This  amount,  however,  was  only  a  drop  in 
the  bucket ;  the  great  bulk  of  money  was  borrowed  through  the 
aid  of  banks  at  home  and  abroad,  and  for  the  money  thus  bor 
rowed  bonds  and  notes  were  given.  A  very  large  part  of  these 
loans  were  arranged  through  the  banking  house  of  Jay  Cooke, 
one  of  the  ablest  financiers  the  country  has  ever  produced.  A 
large  amount  of  money  was  also  raised  by  internal  taxation. 

1  During  the  latter  part  of  1864,  the  Confederate  ironclad  Albemarle  appeared 
in  Albemarle  Sound,  destroyed  the  Southfield,  and  threatened  the  existence  of  the 
other  vessels  of  the  blockading  squadron.     A  "dare-devil"  lieutenant,  William 
Barker  Gushing,  fitted  a  small  launch  with  a  torpedo  swung  at  the  bow,  steamed 
to  the  Albemarle  at  night,  lowered  the  torpedo  under  her  hull,  and  blew  her  up. 
Gushing' s  own  launch  was  destroyed  and  most  of  the  crew  were  drowned.    Gush 
ing  swam  ashore,  and  finally  made  his  way  within  the  Federal  lines.    The  destruc 
tion  of  the  Albemarle  led  to  the  capture  of  Plymouth,  North  Carolina. 

2  Much  of  the  coin,  however,  was  quickly  gathered  in  by  leading  banks  and  held 
at  a  high  premium.     To  provide  the  money  for  ordinary  business,  the  first  green 
backs  were  issued. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  343 

Bonds.  —  The  bonds  issued  by  the  government  were  in  the  form 
of  a  promise  to  pay  to  the  holder  the  sum  designated.  Some  of 
these  bonds  were  payable  in  twenty  years,  some  in  thirty,  and 
some  in  forty  years.  Most  of  them  were  to  be  paid  in  gold. 
For  some  time  the  bonds  did  not  bring  their  face  value  because 
the  buyers  feared  that  the  government  might  not  be  able  to  redeem 
them.  Unscrupulous  speculators  also  tried  to  impair  their  value 
in  order  to  lower  their  price.  More  than  $1,000,000,000  worth  of 
these  bonds  were  sold,  and  every  dollar's  worth  of  principal  and 
interest  was  paid  on  the  date  it  was  due. 

Notes  and  Currency.  — The  notes  issued  by  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment  were  of  two  kinds,  —  the  ordinary  "greenback"  and  the 
interest-bearing  treasury  note.  The  greenbacks  were  merely 
promises  to  pay  the  face  value  on  the  demand  of  the  holder. 
They  passed  from  hand  to  hand  as  money.  They  were  not  worth 
their  face  value  in  gold  and,  owing  to  unscrupulous  speculators, 
they  depreciated  steadily  until  it  was  evident  that  the  Federal 
government  would  succeed  in  holding  the  Union  together.  At 
one  time  a  dollar  greenback  was  worth  only  forty  cents  in  gold. 
The  issue  of  greenbacks  amounted  to  $450,000,000. 

The  treasury  notes,  of  which  there  were  several  kinds,  bore 
interest.  In  the  popular  mind  they  were  "  safe,"  and  therefore 
they  were  hoarded  by  the  banks  and  by  small  capitalists  until 
they  gradually  disappeared  from  circulation.  The  total  issue  of 
the  interest-bearing  treasury  notes  amounted  to  a  little  more  than 
$575,000,000. 

The  fractional  paper  currency  —  paper  money  issued  in  frac 
tions  of  a  dollar  —  was  designed  to  take  the  place  of  the  silver 
coins  that  had  entirely  disappeared  from  circulation.1  The  de 
nominations  issued  were  the  same  as  those  of  the  silver  coin 
which  they  replaced,  except  that  a  fifteen-cent  piece  was  issued. 
Until  the  issue  of  this  currency,  small  change  was  so  scarce  that 
postage  stamps,  street-car  tickets,  and  the  stamped  cards  of  busi 
ness  firms  were  used  in  making  change.  During  the  time  that 
paper  money  was  in  use,  it  is  estimated  that  several  million 
dollars'  worth  was  lost  or  destroyed,  and  inasmuch  as  it  was  not 
1  The  fractional  currency  was  facetiously  known  as  "  shinplasters." 


344  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

presented  to  the  Treasury  for  redemption,  the  government  was 
the  gainer. 

Internal  Taxation.  —  A  large  revenue  was  raised  by  means  of  a 
tax  on  goods  used  at  home.  This  was  known  as  the  internal 
revenue  tax.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  not  many  things  escaped  this 
kind  of  taxation,  except  food.  Liquors,  tobacco,  bottled  goods, 
and  legal  documents  yielded  the  greater  part  of  the  revenue,  which 
was  collected  by  the  use  of  stamps  purchased  and  affixed  by  the 
manufacturer.  The  tax  on  liquors  and  tobacco  has  been  con 
tinued  to  the  present  time. 

National  Banks.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  most  of  the 
banks  of  the  United  States  were  operating  under  state  charters. 
At  that  time,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  then  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
urged  the  passage  of  an  act  to  establish  national  banks,  so  that 
the  sale  of  United  States  bonds  might  be  made  easier ;  in  other 
words,  with  the  existence  of  such  banks,  partly  under  the  control 
of  the  United  States  Treasury,  it  would  be  much  easier  for  the 
government  to  borrow  money.  The  act  was  opposed  by  the 
various  banks  of  the  country,  and  not  until  1863  did  it  pass 
the  Congress. 

A  reason  why  the  state  banks  opposed  the  measure  is  not  hard 
to  find.  Each  bank  was  required  to  buy  government  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  one  third  of  its  capital,  and  to  deposit  them  with 
the  Treasury  Department  as  security.  For  two  years  only  a  few 
of  the  state  banks  became  national  banks;  so  the  Congress  put 
a  tax  of  ten  per  cent  on  all  bills,  or  money,  issued  by  state 
banks.  Then  most  of  them  became  national  banks  in  order  to 
escape  the  tax.  The  result  was  very  beneficial ;  a  great  many  irre 
sponsible  banks  —  "  wild-cat  banks  "  they  were  called 
Provisions  — were  force(j  ^0  g[ye  Up  business.  Some  of  them  had 
for  secunty 

been  established  with  the  distinct  purpose  of  swindling 

the  communities  in  which  they  had  been  established ;  others  were 
honestly  but  inefficiently  managed.  Under  the  new  law,  if  a 
national  bank  failed,  the  Treasury  Department  redeemed  its  bills 
with  the  proceeds  of  the  bonds  on  deposit. 

Finances  of  the  Confederate  States. —  The  Confederate  govern 
ment  had  great  difficulty  in  raising  money  for  war  purposes. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


345 


The  chief  resource  of  the  Southern  states  was  cotton,  which 
could  not  be  sold  because  of  the  blockade.  The  Confederate  gov 
ernment  sold  bonds  of  its  own  issue  in  Europe,  but  in  time  no 
one  cared  to  take  the  risk  involved  in  buying  them.  After  a 
while,  every  cotton  grower  was  required  to  loan  to  the  govern 
ment  a  considerable  part  of  the  money  he  might  receive  for  his 
crop,  provided  he  got  it  to  market,  taking  his  pay  in  Confederate 
bonds.  When  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  raise  money  in  this 
way,  bills  were  issued  to  the  amount  of  several  hundred  millions 
of  dollars.  These  depreciated,  little  by  little,  and  at  the  close 


PAPER  MONEY  ISSUED  BY  THE  CONFEDERACY. 

of  the  war  they  were  practically  worthless.  As  the  Confederacy 
did  not  win  its  independence,  neither  the  bills  nor  the  bonds 
were  ever  redeemed. 


RECONSTRUCTION 

Plans  for  reconstructing  the  Seceded  States.  —  The  problem  of 
getting  the  seceded  states  back  into  the  Union  began  before  the 
end  of  the  war,  and  from  the  first  it  proved  a  most  difficult  one. 
As  early  as  1863,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and  Louisiana  were  occu 
pied  by  Federal  troops,  and  the  people  were  ready  to  come  into 
the  Union  again.  By  their  support  of  the  Confederacy  they  had 
gained  nothing  and  lost  everything. 

President  Lincoln  showed  his  broad  character  and  goodness 
of  heart.  In  a  proclamation  of  amnesty,  he  declared  his  will- 


346 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


ingness  to  pardon  all  who  were  at  that  time,  or  had  been,  in 
rebellion  against  the  Federal  government,  provided  that  they 
should  take  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  and  obey 
prociama-  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  The  President  also 
tion.  directed  the  qualified  voters  to  organize  their  state 

governments.  The  three  states  did  this ;  but  when  their  legis 
latures  elected  senators  to  the  Congress,  that  body  refused  to 
receive  them.  The  Congress  then  formed  a  plan  of  its  own 


RICHMOND  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR. 

for  readmitting  the  states,  but  the  bill  was  passed  at  the  end 
of  the  session  and  President  Lincoln  did  not  sign  it.  So  the 
matter  dragged  along,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  nothing  had 
been  accomplished.  Neither  the  Congress  nor  the  President 
cared  to  take  any  steps  until  after  the  general  election,  in 
November,  1864. 

The  Reelection  of  Lincoln.  1864.  —  The  general  election  occurred 
before  the  Civil  War  had  been  fought  to  a  finish.  During  the 
spring  of  1864  a  faction  of  the  Republican  party  became  dissat 
isfied  with  Lincoln.  Its  leaders  called  a  convention,  which  met 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  347 

at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  nominated  John  C.  Fremont  for  the 
presidency.  This  faction  believed  that  Lincoln  had  been  too 
lenient  in  dealing  with  the  people  of  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and 
Louisiana  and  thought  that  all  reconstruction  plans  should  be 
made  by  the  Congress. 

A  week  after  the  convention  at  Cleveland,  the  regular  Republi 
can  party  met  in  convention  at  Baltimore.  A  number  of  "  War 
Democrats  "  joined  them.  Lincoln  was  renominated  and  Andrew 
Johnson,  a  Union  Democrat  of  Tennessee,  was  named  for  Vice- 
President.  This  convention  approved  of  Lincoln's  war  policy  and 
of  the  plan  which  he  wished  to  put  in  operation  in  reconstructing 
the  Southern  states. 

The  Democrats,  meeting  in  convention  at  Chicago,  nominated 
General  George  B.  McClellan  for  the  presidency  and  declared  that 
the  war  should  cease.  McClellan  accepted  the  nomination,  but  at 
once  stated  his  opinion  that  the  war  was  not  a  failure  and  should 
be  prosecuted  to  the  end,  thus  repudiating  the  platform  of  his 
party. 

Fremont  withdrew  in  September  as  a  candidate  for  the  presi 
dency,  and  Lincoln  was  easily  elected  over  McClellan. 

The  Murder  of  President  Lincoln.  1865. — At  the  time  when 
there  was  a  general  rejoicing  over  the  close  of  the  war,  President 
Lincoln  was  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  The  dread 
ful  occurrence  took  place  on  April  14,  1865.  The  President  was 
attending  a  performance  at  Ford's  Theater,  in  Washington,  accom 
panied  by  his  wife  and  some  friends.  During  the  progress  of  the 
play,  a  one-time  actor  named  John  Wilkes  Booth  forced  his  way 
into  the  President's  box  and  shot  him.  The  President  died  with 
out  recovering  consciousness.  The  murder  was  the  result  of 
a  conspiracy  that  planned  also  the  murder  of  several  other  officers 
of  the  government.  The  assassin  was  hunted  down  and  killed  in 
his  attempt  to  escape. 

The  joy  of  the  people  over  the  coming  of  peace  was  turned  to 
lamentation.  The  whole  nation  mourned  over  the  death  of  the 
great  leader,  and  there  was  remarkable  demonstration  of  grief  and 
affection  as  his  body  was  borne  from  Washington  to  Springfield, 
Illinois,  to  be  laid  in  its  final  resting  place. 


348  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  Lincoln,  the  Vice-President, 
Andrew  Johnson,1  was  sworn  into  office  as  President. 

Civil  Government  in  the  Seceded  States.  —  With  the  surrender  of 
General  Lee,  the  Confederate  government  ceased,  leaving  the 
seceded  states  practically  without  any  formal  government.  So 
far  as  public  order  was  concerned,  there  was  nothing  to  fear ;  the 
conduct  of  the  people  was  as  orderly  as  though  all  laws  were  in 
force.  The  wheels  of  civil  government,  however,  were  motionless. 

President  Johnson  acted  quickly  in 
the  matter.  He  established  courts, 
withdrew  the  blockading  fleet,  opened 

the    ports    for    business,    and    pro- 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  JOHNSON.         .  n    .   ..       ,,          ,,       .  „  , 

vided  tor  the  collection  ot  taxes.     In 

order  to  establish  working  governments,  he  appointed  a  pro 
visional  governor  in  each  state  and  provided  for  sessions  of  the 
legislatures. 

In  this  matter  the  policy  of  the  President  was  generally  com 
mended  by  the  whole  country.  The  administration  of  the  laws 
passed  by  the  provisional  legislatures,  however,  was  not  always 
above  criticism.  In  various  instances  vagrancy  and  pauper  laws 
were  put  into  effect,  these  being  virtually  aimed  at  the  negro 
population.  On  the  whole,  laws  of  this  sort  were  necessary.  A 
large  part  of  the  former  slave  population  had  the  notion  that, 
having  been  freed,  they  were  no  longer  required  to  labor  for  their 
bread  and  butter;  most  of  them  therefore  became  shiftless  and 
idle,  and  a  few  became  vicious  and  dangerous. 

In  many  cases,  however,  the  spirit  of  these  laws  was  violated, 
and  the  negroes  were  put  in  a  condition  that  was  not  a  whit 
different  from  actual  slavery.  When  this  fact  became  known  in 
the  North,  there  was  a  feeling  of  resentment  that  was  not  fully 
warranted,  because  the  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Thirteenth 

1  ANDREW  JOHNSON  (1808-1875)  was  born  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  He 
began  life  as  a  tailor,  and  made  himself  the  leader  of  a  working-man's  party. 
His  gifts  of  oratory  were  considerable.  He  rose  rapidly ;  was  elected  to  the  Con 
gress  in  1843,  and  to  the  Senate  in  1857.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he 
took  a  vigorous  Union  attitude.  With  a  view  to  conciliating  the  War  Democrats, 
the  Republicans  nominated  him  to  the  vice-presidency.  On  Lincoln's  assassina 
tion  he  became,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  the  seventeenth  President. 


THE  CIVIL    WAR  349 

Amendment   was   not   general.      For   this   condition   of    affairs 
President  Johnson  was  unjustly  blamed. 

The  President  and  the  Congress.     1865,  1866.  —  When  the  Con 
gress  met  (December,  1865)  much  anger  was  exhibited,  especially 
in  the  Senate.      Charges  that  the  President  had  ex 
ceeded  his  powers  were  freely  made,  and  all  that  he     Rights  Bill 


had  done  for  the  Southern  states  was  ignored.  The 
Congress  refused  to  recognize  the  senators  and  representatives 
who  had  been  elected  to  represent  the  seceded  states.  A  Civil 
Rights  Bill  giving  to  the  freedmen  the  right  to  vote  and  to  sue  at 
law  in  the  United  States  courts  was  passed  (1866)  ;  also  a  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  Bill,  which  provided  for  the  sale  of  government 
lands  on  easy  terms.  While  these  acts  were  under  discussion, 
the  President's  course  was  sharply  criticised  in  the  Senate;  the 
President  vetoed  the  acts,  but  the  Congress  passed  them  over  his 
veto. 

By  this  time  President  Johnson  had  lost  his  temper  and  a  good 
part  of  his  judgment.  He  made  a  tour  through  the  West,  and  in 
his  public  speeches  he  strongly  denounced  the  Congress.  Some 
members  of  the  Congress  likewise  were  undignified  in  their 
language.  The  estrangement  of  the  President  and  the  Congress 
soon  became  a  matter  of  public  concern,  inasmuch  as  it  was 
rapidly  arousing  anew  the  hostile  feeling  between  the  two  sec 
tions  of  the  country. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment.  1866-1868.  —  Lest  the  Civil  Eights 
Bill  should  be  repealed  by  a  succeeding  Congress,  its  principles 
were  embodied  (1866)  in  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution.  The 
Congress  made  the  approval  and  adoption  of  this  amendment  a 
condition  of  the  readmission  of  seceded  states  into  the  Union. 
This  Fourteenth  Amendment  received  the  necessary  ratifications 
in  1868. 

The  Reconstruction  Policy  of  the  Congress.  1867.  —  In  the 
meantime,  the  Congress  had  proceeded  to  carry  out  a  different 
plan  of  reconstruction.  Tennessee  had  already  been 
readmitted,  being  the  only  seceded  state  at  that  time 
accepting  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  The  remain 
ing  ten  states  were  grouped  into  five  military  districts,  and  a 


350  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

military  governor  was  placed  in  charge  of  each  district  (1867). 
In  order  to  be  readmitted  to  the  Union,  each  state  was  required  — 

To  adopt  a  new  state  constitution  that  should  guarantee  to  the 
freedmen  full  civil  rights,  including  the  right  to  vote. 

To  ratify  the  Fourteenth  Amendment. 

If  the  Congress  approved  the  constitution  adopted  by  the  state, 
the  latter  might  then  be  readmitted,  and  again  become  a  member 
of  the  Federal  Union.  Six  of  the  states  —  Arkansas,  North  Caro 
lina,  South  Carolina,  Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Alabama — carried 
out  these  provisions  and  were  readmitted. 

The   Impeachment   of   President   Johnson.    1868.  —  The   quarrel 

between  the  President  and   the   Congress  was   daily  becoming 

more  bitter.     Some  of  the  leaders  in  the  Congress  feared  that  the 

President  might  prevent   the  operation  of  the  various  acts  of 

reconstruction  by  removing  the  officers  responsible  for 

their  execution.  So  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act,  forbid- 
Unice  Act  7 

ding  the  removal  of  a  Federal  officer  by  the  President 
without  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  was  passed. 

During  the  second  year  of  his  term  (August,  1867)  President 
Johnson  suspended  the  secretary  of  war,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  and 
appointed  General  Grant  in  his  place.  This  he  had  a  perfect 
right  to  do.  The  Senate,  however,  would  not  approve  the  Presi 
dent's  action,  and  ordered  that  Stanton  be  restored  to  the  office. 
The  President  did  not  obey  the  order ;  on  the  contrary,  he  ap- 
The  attem  t  P°^n^6d  General  Lorenzo  Thomas  secretary  of  war, 
to  remove  and  directed  him  to  seize  the  office.  All  this  was  a 
Stanton  violation  of  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act ;  so  the  House 
impeached  the  President  (February  24, 1868),  and  he  was  ordered 
to  be  tried  before  the  Senate.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  trial,  the 
Senate  failed,  by  one  vote,  to  find  him  guilty. 

Carpet-bag  Rule  in  the  South.  —  The  Congressional  plan  of 
reconstructing  the  Southern  states  had  an  effect  that  was  never 
intended.  The  reconstruction  acts  gave  to  freedmen  the  right 
to  vote  and  to  hold  office,  and  disfranchised  those  who  prior 
to  the  war  had  held  office  and  had  afterwards  supported  the 
Confederacy.  Moreover,  every  officer  was  required  to  take  oath 


THE  CIVIL    WAR 


351 


that  he  had  not  aided  in  the  struggle  against  the  Union.  As 
a  result,  nearly  all  the  officers  of  the  Southern  state  govern 
ments  were  either  freedmen  or  else  political  adventurers,  called 
carpet-baggers,  who  had  gone  into  the  Southern  states  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  Under  their  rule  the  people  fared  about  as 
badly  as  they  did  during  the  time  of  hostilities.  The  destruction 
of  property  had  been  one  of  the  fortunes  of  war.  During  the 
period  of  reconstruction,  the  story  of  the  course  of  events  in  the 
South  is  a  history  of  pillage,  theft,  and  corruption  in  office. 


A  DESERTED  PLANTATION  AFTER  THE  WAR. 

Enormous  sums  were  voted  by  the  legislatures,  only  to  be  wasted 
or  stolen.  It  was  about  ten  years  before  the  responsible  people 
got  possession  of  the  reins  of  government  again. 

The  Ku  Klux  Klan.  —  In  the  depth  of  their  misery,  some  of 
the  more  hot-headed  people  of  the  South  resorted  to  acts  that 
were  unwise  and  illegal.  They  organized  secret  societies  for  the 
purpose  of  frightening  the  freedmen  away  from  the  voting  places 
at  election  time.  It  was  the  negro  vote  that  elected  the  carpet 
bagger  to  the  legislatures ;  and  by  keeping  the  negro  voter  away 
from  the  polls,  it  was  hoped  that  responsible  men  might  be 
elected  to  fill  the  offices. 


352  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

There  were  several  societies  of  this  character,  one  of  which, 
the  Ku  Klux  Klanf  became  widely  known.  At  first  it  was  a 
secret  organization  for  social  purposes,  but  in  time  it  took  a 
political  character.  As  is  often  the  case  in  such  organizations, 
it  finally  became  an  agency  for  evil  doing  and  private  revenge. 
In  many  instances  the  members  carried  on  their  work  with 
such  brutality  that  their  victims  were  murdered  or  crippled 
for  life. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment.  1869.  —  In  consequence  of  the  inter 
ference  with  negro  voting,  the  Congress  passed  the  necessary 
legislation  for  the  adoption  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  which 
was  duly  ratified  by  the  necessary  number  of  states.  This  amend 
ment  provided  for  the  protection  of  voters ;  under  its  provisions 
the  Force  Act  was  passed,  making  it  an  offense  to  hinder  or  to 
intimidate  a  voter.  For  several  years  thereafter,  Federal  troops 
were  stationed  at  the  polls  during  the  elections,  when  it  was 
thought  that  such  a  measure  was  necessary. 

Reconstruction  Completed.  —  As  the  real  condition  of  affairs  in 
the  South  became  known  to  the  people  of  the  country  at  large, 
there  grew  a  feeling  that  some  of  the  measures  imposed  upon  the 
Southern  people  had  been  unnecessarily  harsh.  It  was  learned 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  in  the  South  were  peaceful  and 
law  abiding,  and  that  they  were  willing  to  do  anything  that  would 
insure  the  possibility  of  earning  their  bread  and  butter  in  peace. 
Having  been  defeated  in  war,  they  intended  that  their  loyalty  to 
the  Union  should  be  beyond  question.  When  this  was  appreci 
ated  throughout  the  country,  the  sentiment  against  harsh  and 
coercive  measures  became  very  strong;  it  finally  took  shape  in 
the  organization  of  the  Liberal  Republicans.  The  organization 
lived  long  enough  to  change  very  materially  the  severity  that 
had  marked  the  treatment  of  the  Southern  people. 

Proclamations  pardoning  certain  of  those  who  had  borne  arms 
against  the  Federal  government  had  been  issued  on  several  occa- 
The  am-  sions,  each  being  more  liberal  than  the  one  preceding, 
nesty  proc-  There  still  remained,  however,  a  large  number  of 
Southerners  who  did  not  have  full  rights  of  citizen 
ship.  On  Christmas  Day,  1868,  President  Johnson  granted  a 


THE  CIVIL    WAE  353 

general  pardon  to  all  those  remaining.1     It  is  certain  that  no 
Christinas  gift  ever  granted  was  more  appreciated  than  this. 

In  the  meantime,  the  remaining  four  states  —  Virginia,  Georgia, 
Mississippi  and  Texas  —  had  complied  with  all  neces-     states 
sary  requirements,  and  were  readmitted  (1870)  to  the     readmitted 
Union.     This  practically  completed  the  work  of  reconstruction. 

SUMMARY 

The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  considered  a  menace  to  the 
expansion  of  slavery,  and  the  secession  of  states  from  the  Union  began. 

A  confederacy  of  Southern  states  was  organized,  and  the  forts,  navy 
yards,  and  arsenals  of  the  United  States  were  seized.  The  bombardment 
of  Fort  Sumter  by  the  Confederates  practically  began  the  Civil  War. 

The  plan  of  the  Federal  government  for  carrying  on  the  war  included  : 

Operations  along  the  Potomac  looking  to  the  capture  of  Richmond, 
which  were  unsuccessful,  chiefly  because  of  the  defeat  of  the  Federal 
army  at  Bull  Run. 

Operations  on  the  frontier  of  Kentucky,  which  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Donelson,  and  the  battle  of  Shiloh.  The  line 
of  the  Federal  troops  advanced  (1861-1862)  to  the  northern  border  of 
Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Georgia,  involving  the  battles  of  luka,  Corinth, 
Murfreesboro,  and  Pea  Ridge. 

Operations  on  the  coast,  which  led  to  the  capture  of  Port  Royal  Sound. 
The  capture  of  New  Orleans  and  the  reduction  of  the  forts  near  its 
mouth  opened  the  lower  Mississippi. 

The  Peninsular  campaign  under  General  McClellan,  beginning  in 
1862,  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  Richmond.  At  York 
peninsula,  McClellan  fought  the  battles  of  Williamsburg,  Fair  Oaks,  and 
Seven  Pines,  reaching  a  point  within  sight  of  Richmond.  The  Con 
federate  Generals  Lee  and  Jackson  retaliated  by  a  raid  into  Maryland, 
but  were  forced  back. 

General  Lee  invaded  the  north,  but  was  defeated  and  driven  back  at 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  by  General  Meade. 

In  the  first  seven  months  of  1863  the  Mississippi  River  between  Port 
Hudson  and  Vicksburg  was  opened  by  the  capture  of  those  two  strong 
holds. 

In  the  latter  half  of  1863  the  Union  lines  were  pushed  south  by  the 

1  Jefferson  Davis  was  then  a  prisoner,  and  was  not  included  in  the  proclamation. 


354  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

capture  of  Chattanooga  and  the  destruction  of  General  Johnson's  army 
at  Dalton. 

The  closing  campaigns  of  the  war  (1864-1865)  consisted  of  operations 
against  Richmond  from  the  north,  and  Sherman's  march  from  Atlanta 
to  a  point  south  of  Richmond. 

The  operations  against  Richmond  involved  the  battles  of  the  Wilder 
ness,  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  and  Petersburg,  in  which  General  Grant 
pushed  General  Lee's  army  south  to  Petersburg.  Early 's  raid  through 
the  Shenandoah  was  checked  by  General  Sheridan. 

In  his  march  across  Georgia  General  Sherman  destroyed  all  available 
supplies  between  Atlanta  and  Savannah. 

The  capture  of  Richmond  practically  closed  the  war.  General  Lee 
surrendered  at  Appomattox. 

The  Federal  naval  work  of  the  Civil  War  consisted  of  the  blockading 
of  the  Southern  ports,  the  destruction  of  blockade  runners,  and  the 
operation  of  the  flotilla  of  iron-clad  gunboats  on  the  Mississippi  and 
Tennessee  rivers. 

The  Confederate  operations  consisted  mainly  of  the  destruction  of 
merchant  ships  by  fast  vessels  built  and  armed  mainly  in  Great  Britain. 

The  most  important  naval  encounter  was  the  fight  between  the  Con 
federate  ironclad  Virginia  and  the  turret  gunboat  Monitor. 

The  money  for  carrying  on  the  war  for  the  Union  was  borrowed  both 
at  home  and  abroad  by  :  — 

The  issue  of  about  one  billion  dollars  worth  of  bonds,  the  principal 
and  interest  of  which  was  payable  in  gold ;  and 

The  various  issues  of  greenbacks  or  paper  money,  to  the  amount  of 
about  $  575,000,000  ;  and 

An  internal  tax. 

The  financial  operations  of  the  war  led  to  the  establishment  of  national 
banks. 

The  congressional  acts  of  reconstruction  provided  that  the  seceded 
states  should  remain  under  military  control  until  they  should  adopt  state 
constitutional  amendments  guaranteeing  civil  rights  to  the  freed  slaves, 
and  should  ratify  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

The  Mississippi  Valley  in  the  Civil  War—  Fiske. 

The  American  Conflict —  Greeley. 

Drumbeat  of  the  Nation  —  Coffin.     (For  popular  reading.) 

Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War  —  Scribner. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

POLITICAL  EVENTS   FROM   1860   TO   1900 

Gold  and  Silver  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  —  The  discovery  of 
new  deposits  of  precious  metals  in  1858  and  the  few  years  fol 
lowing  resulted  in  extensive  emigration  to  the  West.  A  part  of 
the  tide  of  emigrants  went  to  the  vicinity  of  Pikes  Peak,  Colorado. 
In  two  years  the  mining  camp  of  Denver  became  a  city  of  several 
thousand  people ;  at  the  end  of  the  century  it  had  become  one  of 


A  COLORADO  SILVER  MINE. 

the  great  centers  of  mining  industry,  and  its  existence  was  a  factor 
in  the  demand  for  a  transcontinental  railway. 

About  the  time  of  the  Pikes  Peak  discoveries,  the  Corn- 
stock  lode,  a  vein  of  ore  rich  in  both  silver  and  gold,  was  dis 
covered  in  the  western  part  of  Nevada.  Carson  and  Virginia  City 

355 


356  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

sprang  into  existence,  and  in  a  very  short  time  many  mines  were 
opened. 

New  States  and  Territories.  —  The  western  movement  of  popula 
tion  was  increased  by  the  discoveries  of  gold  and  silver,  and  there 
was  much  prospecting  for  these  metals  throughout  the 
Nebraska  Rocky  Mountains.  With  each  new  discovery  there 
was  a  rush  of  miners.  As  a  result  Colorado  became 
a  territory  in  1861 ;  the  territory  of  Dakota  was  formed  in  1861 ; 
Idaho  followed  in  1863 ;  Arizona  was  severed  from  New  Mexico 
the  same  year ;  Montana  was  organized  in  1864 ;  Wyoming  began 
its  territorial  history  in  1868.  In  1864  Nevada  was  admitted  as 
the  thirty-sixth  state,  three  years  after  it  had  been  organized  as 
a  territory.  Nebraska,  the  thirty-seventh  state,  was  admitted  in 
1867. 

Napoleon  III  attempts  to  invade  Mexico.  1864-1867.  —  The  at 
tempt  of  Napoleon  III  to  extend  French  power  to  America  was 
practically  one  of  the  events  of  the  Civil  War.  In  this  war  the 
French  emperor  saw  his  opportunity.  Mexico  owed  considerable 
sums  of  money  in  Europe,  and  as  she  could  not  pay,  Great  Britain, 
Spain,  and  France  sent  troops  to  hold  Mexican  seaports  until  the 
debts  were  paid.  Great  Britain  and  Spain  withdrew  as  soon  as 
the  claims  were  paid,  but  the  French  emperor  attempted  to 
destroy  the  Mexican  republic.  About  1864,  Napoleon  deposed 
the  officers  of  the  Mexican  government  and  made  Maximilian,  a 
brother  of  the  Austrian  emperor,  the  sovereign  of  Mexico. 

This  act  was  clearly  contrary  to  the  Monroe  Doctrine,1  but 
during  the  Civil  War  the  United  States  government  could  do 
nothing  more  than  to  protest.  To  the  protests  Napoleon  paid  no 
attention.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  however,  General  Sheridan 
was  dispatched  to  the  Mexican  frontier  with  50,000  troops.  *  The 
French  troops  were  immediately  withdrawn.  Napoleon  then 
performed  the  cowardly  act  of  leaving  Maximilian  to  his  fate. 
The  Mexicans  promptly  shot  him  and  reestablished  their  republic. 

The  Purchase  of  Alaska.  1867.  —  By  the  efforts  of  Secretary 
of  State  William  H.  Seward,  Alaska,  or  Russian  America,  was 
purchased  from  the  Emperor  of  Russia  for  $7,200,000.  The  terri- 

1  See  page  248. 


858  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

tory  had  been  a  burden  to  Russia,  but  Seward  had  an  enthusiastic 
belief  in  the  future  of  Alaska.  The  purchase  was  considered  a 
most  profitable  investment  inasmuch  as  it  included  valuable  fish 
eries  and  the  largest  fur-seal  rookeries  in  the  world. 

Grant  elected  President.  1868.  —  In  previous  elections  for  Presi 
dent,  a  successful  soldier  had  always  proved  a  good  candidate. 
Jackson,  Harrison,  and  Taylor  had  become  prominent  as  soldiers 
rather  than  as  statesmen.  General  Grant  was  therefore  considered 
by  the  Eepublicans  the  most  available  candidate  for  the  election 
^  of  1868.  Horatio  Seymour 

of  New  York  was  nominated 
by   the   Democrats.      There 
was   no   material    difference 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  GRANT.  between    the    two   platforms 

except  that  the  Democratic  platform  was  against  giving  away 
lands  for  public  improvements.  Grant  and  Colfax  were  elected, 
and  were  inaugurated,  March  4,  1869. 

The  Rise  of  the  Labor  Reform  Party.  —  During  the  campaign  the 
labor  element  came  to  the  front.  Labor  organizations  were  no 
new  thing ;  this  time,  however,  organized  labor  became  a  national 
matter  and  effected  a  national  organization.  National  labor 
congresses  held  sessions  in  Louisville,  Chicago,  New  York,  and 
Cincinnati,  and  presented  a  ticket  for  the  presidential  election. 
The  attitude  of  the  labor  congress  in  demanding  the  repeal  of  the 
national  bank  law  and  the  issue  of  unlimited  paper  money  cost 
the  party  many  votes  that  otherwise  it  would  have  held.  Two 
planks  in  the  platform  subsequently  proved  to  be  sound  —  the 
exclusion  of  Chinese  coolies  and  laborers  and  the  refusal  of  public 
land  grants  to  corporations. 

Indian  Troubles.  —  The  loose  system  of  dealing  with  the  tribes 
of  Western  Indians  more  than  once  has  brought  the  United  States 
into  hostile  relations  with  them.  For  the  greater  part,  the  corrupt 
practices  of  contractors  and  of  white  men  who  sought  possession 
of  Indian  lands  have  caused  these  troubles.  In  1873  the  Modocs 
of  Oregon  killed  several  innocent  white  settlers,  and  resisted  the 
troops  sent  to  put  them  back  upon  their  reservation.  They  forti 
fied  themselves  in  an  inaccessible  place,  and  treacherously  killed 


POLITICAL    EVENTS   FROM  1860   TO   1900 


359 


two  of  the  commissioners  who  went  there  to  confer  with  them. 
They  were  finally  captured  and  sent  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

The  Sioux  have  always  been  troublesome.  During  the  Civil 
War  about  sixty  were  hanged  at  Mankato,  Minnesota,  for  the 
massacre  of  white  settlers.  In  1876  they  refused  to 
leave  the  Plains  and  go  upon  the  reservation,  where 
it  had  been  found  necessary  to  place  them.  In 
defiance,  they  intrenched  themselves  in  the  valley  of  Little 
Big  Horn  River, 
Montana.  Gen 
eral  George  A. 
Custer  attempt 
ed  to  drive  them 
from  their  posi 
tion.  He  had 
two  hundred  and 


THE  SCENE  OF  GENERAL  CUSTER'S  FIGHT. 


sixty-two     men 

in  his  command. 

When  the  fight 

was  finished, 

Custer  and  his 

two  hundred  and 

sixty-two     men 

were    dead    on 

the  field.     The  only  survivors  were  Captain  Keogh's  horse  and  a 

cowardly  Crow  scout.     The  Indians  were  finally  beaten. 

The  Chicago  and  Boston  Fires.  —  Like  most  cities  of  very  rapid 
growth,  the  city  of  Chicago  was  but  little  better  than  a  tinder 
box  at  the  end  of  its  first  fifty  years.  A  fire  broke  out  (October, 
1871)  in  a  part  of  the  city  that  consisted  of  light,  frame  buildings. 
A  strong  wind  spread  the  fire  for  two  days,  sweeping  over  five 
square  miles,  including  the  business  part  of  the  city.  Although 
the  loss  was  heavy,  it  proved  a  blessing.  The  burned  district  was 
again  covered  with  substantial  buildings  almost  like  magic.  A 
year  later  (November,  1872),  the  business  section  of  Boston  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  Sixty  acres  of  buildings  were  destroyed.  Like 
the  Chicago  fire,  it  proved  to  be  most  beneficial  in  final  results. 


360  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Geneva  Award.  1871.  —  At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  the 
United  States  made  a  demand  on  Great  Britain  for  damages 
inflicted  by  the  Confederate  cruisers  built  and  armed  in  British 
waters.1  The  British  government  evaded  the  question  for  several 
years,  but  finally  the  two  governments  made  a  treaty  at  Wash 
ington  (1871)  agreeing  to  refer  the  matter  to  a  board  of  five 
arbitrators.  The  Board  of  Arbitration  met  at  Geneva,  Switzer 
land.  As  a  result,  the  United  States  was  awarded  the  sum  of 
$15,500,000. 

The  Boundary  and  Fisheries  Disputes.  1872,  1877.  —  For  many 
years  the  boundary  line  between  British  Columbia  and  Washing 
ton  Territory  had  been  in  dispute,  and  for  some  time  both  British 
and  American  troops  had  been  in  camp  on  very  friendly  terms  at 
San  Juan  Island,  in  the  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  The  matter 
was  referred  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany  (1872),  who  awarded  the 
islands  in  dispute  to  the  United  States. 

A  few  years  later  (1877),  during  Grant's  second  term,  a  dispute 
over  certain  privileges  of  the  Canadian  fishing  waters  was  sub 
mitted  to  arbitration.  In  this  case' it  was  shown  that  the  Ameri 
cans  were  the  aggressors,  and  the  United  States  paid  $5,500,000 
damages. 

The  Reelection  of  Grant.  1872.  —  The  management  of  affairs  in 
the  South  caused  the  organization  of  the  Liberal  Eepublican 
party.2  The  regular  party  nominated  General  Grant  and  Henry 
Wilson ;  the  Liberal  Republicans  chose  Horace  Greeley  as  their 
candidate.  The  Democrats  endorsed  Greeley  and  the  two  parties 
compromised  by  uniting  on  B.  Gratz  Brown  of  Missouri  for 
Vice-President.  Subsequently,  the  dissatisfied  elements  of  both 
Liberal  Republicans  and  Democrats  nominated  presidential  candi 
dates.  The  Prohibitionists  also  nominated  candidates.  Grant 
was  reflected  by  a  heavy  vote. 

Four  Years  of  Corrupt  Politics.  —  W'hen  a  political  party  is  in 
power  any  length  of  time,  officials  are  apt  to  use  their  positions  to 
secure  money  and  other  advantages  unfairly.  Such  was  the  case 
in  Grant's  administration ;  many  corrupt  officials  brought  about 
shameful  scandals.  Those  that  came  within  reach  of  the  Presi- 
1  See  page  337.  2  See  page  352. 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  FROM  1860   TO   1900  361 

dent's  hand  were  exposed  and  so  far  as  possible  the  culprits  were 
punished.  Public  displeasure  was  aroused  to  the  extent  that  the 
Democrats  obtained  a  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  Election  of  1876;  the  Tilden-Hayes  Episode.  —  As  a  result 
there  were  several  parties  in  the  field  during  the  campaign  of 
1876.  The  Prohibition  party  showed  a  considerable  strength,  and 
people  who  were  dissatisfied  with  financial  measures  formed  the 
Greenback  party.  The  Democrats  nominated  Samuel  J.  Tilden 
and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  There  was  dissension  among  the 
Republicans;  the  convention  was  held  in  Cincinnati,  and  after 
many  fruitless  ballots  had  been  cast,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes1  of 
Ohio  and  William  A.  Wheeler  of  New  York  were  nominated. 

When  election  day  came,  Tilden  received  a  much  larger  popular 
vote  than  either  of  the  other  candidates.  The  electoral  vote,  how 
ever,  was  a  different  matter.  One  hundred  and  eighty-five  votes 
were  required  to  elect  a  candidate,  and  the  Democrats  could  count 
with  certainty  on  only  one  hundred  and  eighty-four.  In  Oregon, 
Louisiana,  Florida,  and  South  Carolina  the  electoral  vote  was  in 
doubt  and  each  party  claimed  the  electors. 

This  was  a  difficulty  that  had  never  been  contemplated,  and  no 
one  had  thought  that  it  would  ever  occur.  The  Congress  passed 
an  act  referring  the  matter  to  a  joint  Electoral  Commission  of  five 
senators,  five  representatives,  and  five  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  Congress  named  two  Repub 
lican  and  two  Democratic  justices;  the 
fifth  justice  was  to  be  chosen  by  these  * 

four,  and  they  chose  a  Republican.  The  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  HAYES. 
joint  commission,  which  then  consisted  of  eight  Republicans  and 
seven  Democrats,  declared  Hayes  to  be  elected. 

The  Policy  of  Conciliation  in  the  South.  —  President  Hayes  be- 

1  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES  (1822-1893)  was  born  in  Delaware,  Ohio.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  Harvard  Law  School.  By  means  of  his  ability  and  industry  he 
soon  established  an  excellent  practice.  He  fought  in  the  Civil  War  on  the  Union 
side,  and  was  brevetted  major-general  of  volunteers.  After  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  he  served  as  member  of  the  Congress,  and  twice  as  governor  of  Ohio.  In 
1877  he  became  the  nineteenth  President.  He  was  much  interested  in  educational 
work  and  prison  reform ;  in  prison  government  many  of  his  remarks  have 
become  maxims. 


362  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN   NATION 

lieved  that  the  measures  imposed  upon  the  South  had  been  un 
necessarily  harsh.  During  his  administration  the  Federal  troops 
that  had  upheld  carpet-bag  rule  in  several  Southern  states  — 
notably  in  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  —  were  withdrawn. 
Responsible  officers  were  at  once  put  in  charge  of  public  affairs 
in  these  states. 

Colorado  Admitted.  1876.  —  Colorado,  the  thirty-eighth  state, 
was  admitted  to  statehood  just  one  hundred  years  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  It  is  therefore  the  "Centennial 
State." 

The  Railroad  Strike  at  Pittsburg.  1877.  —  Strikes  among  work- 
ingmen  for  the  purpose  of  bettering  their  condition  have  taken 
place  ever  since  workingmen  have  had  organizations.  In  the 
United  States,  railway  employees  form  a  group  notable  for 
intelligence,  courage,  and  efficiency.  Although  organization  was 
common  among  workingmen,  the  railway  men  were  about  the 
first  in  the  country  to  form  themselves  into  closely  organized 
brotherhoods  that  could  be  relied  upon  to  act  as  a  unit. 

In  1877  the  employees  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  at 
Pittsburg  declared  a  strike  in  order  to  compel  the  management  to 
redress  certain  alleged  grievances.  The  strike  extended  to  other 
divisions  of  the  railway  and  then  to  other  railways.  Unfortu 
nately,  there  were  serious  riots  along  the  lines  of  the  various  rail 
ways.  In  Pittsburg  it  was  necessary  to  call  upon  the  troops  to 
restore  order.  Property  to  the  value  of  many  millions  of  dollars 
was  destroyed. 

Financial  Affairs.  —  During  Grant's  administration,  the  Congress 
had  made  gold  the  standard  money  of  the  country  (1873). l  In 
1878  the  Bland-Allison  Bill  made  both  silver  and  gold  basic 
money  —  in  other  words,  acceptable  for  all  debts.  In  1879  the 
government  accepted  greenbacks  at  face  value,  paying  gold  for 
them  on  demand.  This  made  the  greenbacks  equal  in  value 
to  gold. 

The  Election  of  Garfield  and  Arthur.  1880.  —  An  unsuccessful 
effort  was  made  to  nominate  General  Grant  for  a  third  term,  in 
spite  of  traditions  to  the  contrary.  The  Republicans  finally  norni- 

1  See  page  ,181. 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM  I860   TO    1900  363 

nated  James  A.  Garfield  l  of  Ohio  and  Chester  A.  Arthur  of  New 

York.     The  Democrats  nominated  Winrield  S.  Hancock,  a  gallant 

soldier;  and  the  Labor  and  Greenback   parties  combined  with 

James  B.  Weaver  at 

the     head     of     the 

ticket.    Garfield  was 

elected. 

The  Murder  of  Gar- 
-  .,  T->       •  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  GARFIELD. 

field.    1881.  —  Presi 
dent  Garfield  had  been  in  office  about  four  months,  when  he  was 
shot  down  by  a  disappointed  office  seeker.     He  lingered  until  Sep 
tember  and  then  died.     Vice-President  Arthur 2  was  immediately 
sworn  in  as  President. 

Civil  Service  Reform.  —  The  murder  of  Garfield  was  a  result  of 
the  most  disgraceful  system  of  distributing  public  offices  among 

a  rabble  of  political 
"  heelers."  Under 
the  long-continued 
spoils  system,3  the 
THE  AUTOGRAPH  or  ARTHUR.  administration  of 

public  business  had  been  conducted  bunglingly  and  inefficiently. 
The  fitness  of  an  official  was  rarely  considered.     The  only  question 

1  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD  (1831-1881)  was  born  at  Orange,  Ohio.    He  grew  up  amid 
hardships  in  a  log-cabin  home  in  the  Ohio  wilderness.    His  schooling  was  inci 
dental,  but,  like  Lincoln,  he  educated  himself  by  a  persistent  course  of  reading. 
He  graduated  from  Williams  College,  Massachusetts.    He  was  elected  president 
of  Hiram  College,  Ohio,  where  he  gained  recognition  as  an  able  educator.    He 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Civil  War.    He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Con 
gress,  and  later  United  States  senator.    In  1881  he  became  the  twentieth  Presi 
dent.    He  was  shot  by  Charles  J.  Giteau,  July  2,  1881,  and  died  in  the  following 
September. 

2  CHESTER  ALAN  ARTHUR  (1830-1886)  was  a  native  of  Fairfield,  Vermont.    He 
graduated  from  Union  College  in  1848.    He  began  to  practice  law  in  New  York, 
and  won  reputation  by  his  arguments  in  behalf  of  the  negroes.    In  18(52  he  was 
made  inspector-general  and   quartermaster-general  of  the  New  York  troops. 
In  1871  President  Grant  appointed  him  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York.     In 
1880  he  was  elected  Vice-President,  and,  on  the  death  of  Garfield,  succeeded  to 
the  post  of  President.    His  attitude  during  his  administration  was  admirable  for 
its  fairmindedness  and  independence. 

3  See  page  260. 


364  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

would  be :  Is  he  a  Democrat  ?  or,  Is  he  a  Kepublican  ?  When 
Democrats  came  into  power,  they  were  apt  to  put  every  Kepublican 
out  and  fill  the  offices  with  Democrats,  and  the  Kepublicans  in 
turn  did  the  same.  To  business  men  such  a  system  seemed 
outrageous. 

In  1883  Civil  Service  laws  were  enacted.  These  laws  require 
that  candidates  for  certain  classes  of  official  positions  must  be 
Competitive  selec^e(i  by  competitive  examination.  Under  the  laws 
examina-  an  official  cannot  be  removed  from  office  for  political 
reasons,  nor  are  political  leaders  permitted  to  demand 
money  from  officers  for  political  purposes.  President  Arthur  gave 
the  civil  service  laws  his  support,  and  his  successors  have  done  like 
wise.  Many  of  the  states  and  cities  have  adopted  similar  regulations. 

Letter  Postage  Reduced.  —  Up  to  1816  the  postage  on  a  letter 
consisting  of  a  single  sheet  of  paper  varied  from  eight  to  twenty- 
five  cents,  according  to  the  distance  of  the  locality  to  which  it 
was  sent.  In  1816  the  rates  of  postage  were  reduced  about  one 
fifth.  In  1851  the  postage  on  a  letter  was  reduced  to  three  cents 
per  half  ounce  for  all  distances  less  than  three  thousand  miles. 
In  1863  it  became  three  cents  for  all  domestic  letters  without 
respect  to  distance.  In  1872  postal  cards  were  authorized,  and 
in  1883  the  postage  on  domestic  letters  was  fixed  at  two  cents. 
The  United  States  is  a  member  of  the  International  Postal 
Union ;  among  the  states  of  this  Union  the  postage  rate  of 
foreign  letters  is  not  more  than  five  cents. 

Cleveland  elected  President ;  the  Democrats  in  Power.  1884.  - 
During  Arthur's  administration  there  had  been  an  effort  to 
reform  the  abuses  that  had  caused  widespread  complaint.  The 
manner  of  doing  this  had  caused  dissensions  in  the  Kepublican 
party,  and  as  a  result  Arthur  was  not  nominated  for  a  second 
term.  This  angered  a  great  many  Kepublicans.  James  G. 
Blaine  of  Maine  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  ticket.  In  a  long 
and  honorable  political  career  Blaine  had  made  many  bitter 
enemies,  and  the  strength  of  the  party  in  this  election  was  there 
fore  greatly  impaired.  Grover  Cleveland,1  the  governor  of  New 

1  GROVER  CLEVELAND  was  born  in  Caldwell,  New  Jersey,  in  J837.  He  began 
the  practice  of  law  in  Buffalo,  New  York.  After  holding  many  local  offices,  he 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM  1860   TO  1900  365 

York,  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democrats.  He  was  elected,  and 
the  Democratic  party  came  into  the  control  of  the  country  after  a 
lapse  of  twenty-four 
years. 

The  Presidential 
Succession.  —  One  of 
the  first  acts  of  the  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  CLEVELAND. 

new  administration  was  a  series  of  measures  to  prevent  a  repeti 
tion  of  the  Hayes-Tilden  episode.  A  Presidential  Succession  Act 
(1886)  provided  that,  in  the  event  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of 
both  President  and  Vice-President,  the  office  of  President  should 
devolve  in  order  upon  the  secretary  of  state,  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  the  secretary  of  war,  the  attorney-general,  the  postmaster 
general,  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  the  secretary  of  the  interior. 
The  place  of  the  Vice-President  is  filled  by  the  president  pro  tern 
of  the  Senate.  The  Electoral  Count  Act  (1887)  provides  for  such 
details  of  counting  the  electoral  votes  as  are  not  named  in  the 
Constitution. 

Rebuilding  the  Navy.  —  At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  navy 
of  the  United  States  was  the  strongest  afloat.  Twenty  years  later 
it  consisted  of  a  few  rusted  monitors  and  several  half-rotten  wooden 
steam  vessels  ;  it  was  the  laughingstock  of  the  world.  There  was 
no  question  of  the  personnel  of  the  navy,  however ;  it  was  without 
superior,  thanks  to  an  efficient  naval  academy.  Under  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  William  C.  Whitney,  the  beginning  of  a  new  navy 
was  effected  during  .  Cleveland's  administration.  A  dispatch 
boat  and  two  steel  cruisers  formed  the  beginning  of  a  fleet  that, 
at  the  close  of  the  century,  consisted  of  about  three  hundred  vessels, 
some  of  the  battleships  being  the  most  powerful  in  existence. 

The  Chicago  Riots.  1886.  —  During  a  railway  strike,  of  which 
Chicago  was  the  center,  an  organized  body  of  anarchists  came  to 
the  front,  and  made  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  When  the  police  at 
tempted  to  scatter  a  gang  at  Hay  market  Square,  Chicago,  the 
latter  retaliated  by  throwing  a  bomb  among  the  police,  killing 

became  governor  of  New  York  in  1883.  The  next  year  he  was  made  President. 
He  served  a  second  term  as  President,  from  1893-1897.  He  is  a  man  of  great 
personal  popularity,  and  even  in  his  retirement  is  an  influence  and  power. 


366 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


seven  and  wounding  a  large  number.     The  leaders  of  the  gang 
were  convicted  and  hanged. 

Harrison  elected  President.  1888.  —  During  Cleveland's  first 
term,  there  was  not  a  little  agitation  over  the  tariff.  As  a  rule, 
the  Democrats  have  favored  a  low  tariff,  while  the  Repub 
licans  have  stood  for  a  protective  tariff.  It  was  feared  that,  if 
the  Democrats  were  in  power  another  term,  the  tariff  would  be 
lowered,  to  the  injury  of  the  country's  manufactures.  Cleveland 


Copyright,  1902,  by  A.  Loeffler. 

THE  BATTLESHIP  ILLINOIS,  U.S.N. 

was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  a  second  term;  Benjamin 
Harrison1  of  Indiana,  a  grandson  of  General  William  Henry 
Harrison,  was  the  Republican  candidate.  Harrison  was  elected. 

New  States  Admitted.  —  During  Harrison's  administration  the 
Union  of  states  was  materially  strengthened,  and  six  new  stars 

1  BENJAMIN  HARRISON  (1833-11)01)  was  a  native  of  North  Bend,  Ohio,  and  was 
a  graduate  of  Miami  University.  He  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Indianapolis, 
and  early  won  recognition  as  an  able  lawyer.  In  the  Civil  War  he  commanded 
an  Indiana  regiment;  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  gallant  conduct  in  the 
Atlanta  campaign,  and  was  brevetted  brigadier-general.  He  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  from  Indiana,  and,  in  1889,  became  President.  After  serv 
ing  his  term  as  President,  he  filled  many  positions  of  international  distinction. 


368  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

were  added  to  the  field  of  the  national  flag.     In  1889  Dakota  Ter 
ritory  was  divided ;  and  North  Dakota  and  South  Dakota  became 

the  thirty-ninth  and  fortieth  states. 
Montana,  the  forty-first,  and  Wash- 
ington,  the  forty-second,  were  ad- 

THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  HARRISON.     mitted     in    that     year  5      Idaho>     the 

forty-third,  and  Wyoming,  the  forty- 
fourth,  were  added  in  the  following  year.     Oklahoma  was  set  off 
from  the  Indian  Territory,  and  made  a  territory  by  itself  in  1889. 
Tariff  Revision.    1890.  —  The  tariff  revision  of  1890,  commonly 
known  as  the  McKinley  tariff,  raised  the  average  of  duties  on  im 
ported  goods  materially.     It  also  provided  a  scheme 
°^  reciprocity ;  that  is,  it  offered  a  nominal  tariff  or 
the  free  entry  of   certain  goods  from  nations  which 
might  make  a  similar  concession  to  the  United  States.     In  some 
instances  the  McKinley  tariff  proved  prohibitive ;  that  is,  certain 
goods  could  not  be  imported  at  all,  because  the  increased  tariff 
made  the  price  so  high  that  the  goods  could  not  be  sold. 

Financial  Matters.  —  The  Sherman  Act,  providing  for  the  pur 
chase   of  four  and  one  half  million  ounces  of  silver 
man  Ac?"       eac^  montnj  was  an  important  incident  of  Harrison's 

administration.1 

Pension  Increase.  —  The  United  States  has  always  been  liberal 
to  the  soldiers  who  fought  to  preserve  the  Union.  The  pension 
list  of  the  Civil  War  was  a  large  one,  and  no  patriotic  citizen 
objected.  In  1890  it  was  increased  to  include  all  soldiers 
unable  to  earn  their  living.  At  the  close  of  the  century  there 
were  nearly  one  million  pensioners,  drawing  an  aggregate  of 
$140,000,000  annually. 

Cleveland's  Second  Election.  1892.  —  It  was  generally  felt  that 
the  McKinley  tariff  was  unnecessarily  high ;  it  was  also  discov 
ered  that  the  tariff  did  not  produce  the  revenue  expected  because 
certain  lines  of  goods  were  not  imported  at  all.  The  campaign  of 
1892,  therefore,  centered  upon  the  question  of  the  tariff.  President 
Harrison  was  nominated  for  a  second  term,  and  so  was  former 
President  Cleveland.  At  the  election  Cleveland  received  nearly 

1  See  page  385. 


POLITICAL   EVENTS   FROM  1860   TO   1900 


369 


twice  as  many  votes  as  his  chief  competitor.     A  new  organization, 
the  People's  party,  carried  several  Western  states. 

The  Columbian  Exposition.  1893.  —  The  four  hundredth  anniver 
sary  of  the  discovery  of  America  was  celebrated  by  a  great  ex 
position  held  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  The  dedication  took  place 
in  October,  1892 ;  the  fair  was  formally  opened  in  May  of  the 
following  year.  It  was  an  exposition  of  the  world's  progress, 


THE  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 

and  nearly  every  nation  was  represented.  Twenty  million  people 
attended  it. 

The  Extra  Session  of  Congress.  1893.  —  An  extra  session  of  the 
Congress  was  convoked  by  President  Cleveland  (August,  1893) 
in  order  to  take  action  on  the  low  price  to  which  silver  had  fallen. 
The  Congress  repealed  the  Sherman  Act,  which  had  required 
the  Treasury  to  buy  four  and  one  half  million  ounces  of  silver 
each  month. 

Tariff  Revision.  1894. —  The  Congress  amended  the  tariff,  in 
1894,  by  an  act  known  as  the  Wilson  Bill.  The  reduction  was 


370  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

not  great,  but  it  brought  about  a  fear  that  there  might  be  furthei 
reductions.  Capitalists  are  slow  to  invest  in  new  enterprises 
The  Wilson  when  any  change  in  the  tariff  laws  is  likely  to  be 
tariff  made.  The  frequent  changes  at  this  time  had  tended 

to  prevent  investment,  and  business  stagnation  resulted. 

Labor  Troubles.  1894.  —  In  1894  the  employees  of  the  Pullman 
Car  Company  at  Chicago  quit  work  on  account  of  a  grievance 
which  the  company  declined  to  satisfy.  The  various  railway 
unions  with  which  the  Pullman  Company  employees  were 
affiliated  also  struck  in  sympathy.  It  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  strikes  in  history.  Almost  all  railways  in  the  country 
were  tied  up.  Property  to  the  value  of  several  millions  of  dollars 
was  destroyed  by  rioters,  and  the  transmission  of  the  mails  was 
delayed. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  President  Cleveland  ordered  Federal 
troops  to  the  scene  of  trouble.  The  governor  of  Illinois  objected 
strongly,  but  President  Cleveland  pointed  out  the  fact  that  it 
was  his  sworn  duty  to  see  that  the  handling  of  the  mails  should 
not  be  delayed.  The  strike  leaders  were  enjoined  by  the  courts 
from  interfering  with  the  mails.  Some  of  them  disobeyed  the 
injunction  and  they  were  therefore  punished.  This  broke  the 
strike;  it  was  declared  to  be  "  government  by  injunction,"  but  it 
was  nevertheless  effective. 

Foreign  Complications.  —  In  1893  the  queen  of  the  Hawaiian 
Kingdom  was  deposed  by  revolutionists.  The  revolutionary 
Hawaii  government  desired  the  annexation  of  the  islands  by 

the  United  States,  and  the  American  flag  was  raised 
over  a  public  building  in  Honolulu.  When  President  Cleveland 
learned  that  the  revolutionists  had  been  aided  by  American 
officers,  he  disavowed  the  act. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine  became  a  live  issue  again  in  1895.  A 
dispute  over  the  boundary  between  Venezuela  and  British  Guiana 
The  Venez-  seemed  likely  to  result  in  the  loss  of  a  considerable 
ueia  dispute  part  of  Venezuelan  territory.  President  Cleveland 
protested  against  the  act  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  latter  agreed 
to  submit  the  matter  to  arbitration,  with  the  result  that  Venezuela 
saved  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  in  dispute. 


POLITICAL   EVENTS   FROM  I860   TO   1900  371 

McKinley  elected  President.  1896.  —  A  foreign  critic  once  declared 
that  a  presidential  election  in  the  United  States  costs  as  much  as 
the  support  of  the  royal  family  in  Great  Britain.  This  is  not  far 
from  the  truth  ;  but  the  presidential  election  in  the  United  States 
usually  has  been  a  campaign  of  education,  and  the  election  of  1892 
was  worth  the  money  it  cost  from  an  educational  standpoint. 

It  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  silver  question  would  be 
the  chief  issue.     The  Democrats  met  in  convention  at  Chicago 
and  nominated  William  J.  Bryan  of  Nebraska.     The 
chief  plank  in  the  platform  declared  for  the  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  which  made  six 
teen  ounces  of  silver  equal  in  coin  value  to  one  ounce  of  gold. 
Another  plank  made  contracts  that  had  been  drawn  on  a  gold 
basis,   payable   in   silver. 
The   People's   party  also 
nominated  Bryan.    There 
were     many     Democrats 
who  favored  a  gold  stand 
ard  ;  they  nominated  John  THE  AUTOGRAPH  OF  MCKINLEY. 
M.  Palmer  of  Illinois.  The  Republicans  nominated  William  McKin 
ley  l  of  Ohio.     The  Republican  platform  was  for  sound  money  — 
practically  for  gold  as  a  standard.     McKinley  was  elected. 

Chinese  Exclusion.  —  Chinese  coolies  were  brought  to  the  United 
States  in  order  to  build  the  Pacific  railways.  They  were  imported 
under  contracts  with  the  various  "  tongs  "  or  companies,  and  were 
in  a  condition  of  servitude  almost  precisely  like  that  of  the  redemp- 
tioners  brought  to  the  United  States  two  hundred  years  before. 
They  were  hired  for  less  than  half  the  wages  paid  to  white 
laborers ;  nevertheless  they  were  orderly  and  serviceable. 

i  WILLIAM  McKmLEY  (1843-1901)  was  a  native  of  Trumbull  County,  Ohio.  He 
was  educated  at  Union  Seminary,  Ohio,  and  Allegheny  College,  Pennsylvania. 
He  enlisted  in  the  Civil  War  and  attained  the  rank  of  major.  He  was  elected 
member  of  the  Congress,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  in  the  House,  1889-1891.  In  this  latter  capacity  he  introduced  the  famous 
McKinley  Tariff  Bill.  He  served  two  terms  as  governor  of  Ohio.  In  1896  he 
was  elected  President,  and  was  reflected  in  1900.  On  September  6,  1901,  while 
holding  a  reception  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  Buffalo,  he  was  shot  by  an 
anarchist;  he  died  September  14.  He  was  of  a  gentle,  dignified,  and  strong 
character,  and  his  death  caused  universal  sorrow. 


7" 


372  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Within  a  few  years  after  the  completion  of  the  railways,  about 
seventy-five  thousand  emigrated  from  China,  and  settled  mainly 
in   California.      There  they  monopolized  the  greater 
Part  °^  tne  ^e^  °^  ^a^  ^a^01'?  being  employed  in  the 
mines,  in  most  of  the  manufacturing  establishments,  in 
the  laundries,  and  as  house  servants.     They  made  faithful  and 
efficient  laborers,  and  that  is  about  all  that  could  be  said  in  their 
favor.     After  a  score  of  years  they  were  still  aliens,  both  in  heart 
and  in  their  ways  of  living.     There  was  no  home  life  among 
them ;   they  lived  under  conditions  that  were  degrading,  disre 
garding  all  laws  except  those  imposed  by  the   companies   that 
owned  them.      They  did  not  "Americanize,"  and  they  had  no 
loyalty  to  the  government.    Even  their  earnings  were  sent  to  China. 
In  the  seventies  there  began  an  agitation  that  led  to  the  exclu 
sion  of  Chinese  coolies.     An  act  of  the  Congress  (1882)  forbade 
Chinese  laborers  from  entering  the  country  for  a  period 
Exclusion       Q£  ten  ^^  .  it  wag  renewed  in  1892  an^  again  in  1902. 

The  act  also  forbade  their  going  to  the  island  posses 
sions  of  the  United  States.  The  administration  of  the  law,  in 
many  instances,  has  not  been  creditable  to  our  country. 

The  Uprising  in  China.  — For  a  number  of  years  there  was  grow 
ing  in  China  a  sentiment  against  foreign  intrusion.  This  resulted 
largely  from  the  conduct  of  the  foreigners  themselves.  The  Chinese 
had  no  competent  army  and  navy.  However  disgraceful,  it  is 
not  far  from  correct  to  say  that  the  Chinese  had  no  rights  that 
foreign  nations  felt  bound  to  respect.  A  war  between  China  and 
Japan  had  half  awakened  a  long-dormant  warlike  feeling  among 
the  Chinese,  and  the  fact  that  several  European  states  had  forced 
China  to  cede  or  lease  Chinese  territory  to  them  gradually 
brought  about  a  very  ugly  feeling  toward  foreigners. 

In  1900  a  secret  society — the  name,  loosely  translated,  means 
"  boxers  "  -  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  expelling  foreigners. 
The  Empress  dowager  secretly  encouraged  the  society,  and  the 
foreign  legations  were  attacked.  Japan,  the  United  States,  and 
the  European  powers  sent  troops  to  rescue  their  embassies.  Peking 
was  entered,  the  uprising  was  quelled,  and  the  people  of  the 
embassies  were  rescued. 


o 
UNITED  STATI 

20-  IN  1906 

SCALE  OF  MILES   , 

)  200  300 


POLITICAL   EVENTS  FROM  I860   TO  1900  373 


SUMMARY 

The  discovery  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  Western  highlands  caused  an 
emigration  from  the  East  to  that  section.  The  organization  of  several 
states  and  territories  resulted. 

During  Grant's  two  term's,  the  Modoc  and  the  Sioux  Indians,  who  had 
gone  on  the  warpath,  were  subdued.  Chicago  and  Boston  were  nearly 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  Geneva  Board  of  Arbitration  awarded  $15,500,000 
to  the  United  States  for  damages  done  by  Confederate  cruisers  built  or 
armed  in  British  ports.  The  boundary  between  Washington  Territory 
and  British  Columbia  was  settled.  The  United  States  paid  Canada 
$ 5,500,000  damages  claimed  in  the  fisheries  dispute. 

The  election  of  Hayes  was  decided  by  a  Joint  Electoral  Commission, 
the  regular  electoral  vote  being  in  doubt.  Conciliatory  measures  were 
made  the  policy  of  the  administration  in  the  South.  Silver  was  demone 
tized,  and  gold  was  made  the  standard. 

President  Garfield  was  murdered,  and  Vice-President  Arthur  became 
President.  Civil  service  laws  were  enacted. 

In  Cleveland's  first  administration  the  rebuilding  of  the  navy  began. 
The  presidential  succession  was  established. 

In  Harrison's  administration  North  and  South  Dakota,  Montana, 
Washington,  and  Idaho  were  admitted  as  states.  The  McKinley  Tariff 
Act  and  the  Sherman  Silver  Act  were  passed.  Pensions  to  veterans  of 
the  Civil  War  were  increased.  The  Columbian  Exposition  was  held. 

In  Cleveland's  second  term  the  Sherman  Silver  Act  was  repealed. 
The  tariff  was  lowered  by  the  Wilson  Bill.  A  boundary  dispute  between 
Venezuela  and  Great  Britain  became  the  subject  of  arbitration,  at  the 
demand  of  the  United  States.  The  President  made  an  attempt  to  restore 
the  queen  of  the  Hawaiian  Kingdom  to  her  throne,  United  States  officials 
having  been  concerned  in  deposing  her. 

By  McKinley's  election  the  effort  to  establish  free  silver  coinage  was 
defeated.  It  became  necessary  to  send  troops  to  China  in  order  to  rescue 
the  members  of  the  foreign  legations. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

Last  Quarter  of  a  Century  —  Andrews. 
Noted  Men  of  the  Solid  South  —  Herbert 
The  United  Stat es  —  Shaler. 


CHAPTER  XX 

INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

Industrial  Resources.  —  With  the  peace  that  ended  the  Civil  War 
came  the  beginning  of  an  industrial  epoch  which  probably  has 
never  been  equaled.  The  people  had  begun  to  recognize  the  exis 
tence  of  several  great  industrial  regions.  The  New  England 
plateau  and  the  foothills  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains  afforded 
water  power  for  light  manufactures.  From  Portland  to  Savan 
nah  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  as  well  as  on  the  Gulf  coast,  were 
splendid  harbors.  In  the  mountain  regions  was  stored  the  coal 
that  could  be  used  in  making  the  iron  and  steel  required  in  rail 
road  building.  The  South  had  long  been  the  world's  chief  source 
of  cotton.  The  prairie  region  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains 
had  been  shown  to  be  not  only  one  of  the  largest,  but  also  one  of 
the  most  fertile  regions  in  the  production  of  food-stuffs. 

Industrial  Needs.  —  These  great  industrial  regions  lacked  one 
very  necessary  thing.  To  be  effective,  they  must  be  joined  by  a 
better  system  of  railway  service  than  had  yet  existed.  With 
out  the  means  of  transporting  their  products  to  the  various  mar 
kets  of  the  world  they  had  but  little  value.  Provision  must  be 
made  for  — 

The  rapid  and  prompt  movement  of  crops  from  the  farms  to  East 
ern  markets  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 
The  shipment  of  the  surplus  food-stuffs  and  cotton  to  Europe  and 

to  other  foreign  markets. 

The  importation  of  such  foreign  and  domestic  articles  as  could 
not  be  economically  made  in  the  Southern  and  Western 
states. 

The  first  of  these  provisions  was  essential  in  developing  the  agri 
cultural  resources  of  the  West  and  the  South.  The  second  was 

374 


IN  D  US  TEI A  L  UE  VEL  OP  MEN  T 


375 


needed  to  stimulate  foreign  commerce.  The  third  would  insure 
return  ''cargoes  to  both  the  railway  and  the  ocean-carrying  com 
panies  and  make  lower  rates  of  traffic. 

In  part  these  industrial  needs  had  been  met  before  the  Civil 
War,  but  it  had  not  been  economically  done.  It  could  not  be 
thoroughly  done  while  all  the  energies  of  the  country  were  bent 
on  the  settlement  of  the  internal  troubles. 


St.Lo 


The  M.-N.  Work 


A  TRUNK  RAILWAY  LIXE. 


Connecting  Industrial  Centers.  —  After  the  Civil  War  was  over, 
the  first  thing  to  adjust  in  industrial  matters  was  the  question  of 
railway  transportation.     Like   the   English   and   the 
French   railways,  those  in   America   were   originally     ^a    lines" 


built  for  local  traffic  ;  the  making  of  trunk  lines,  or 
long  lines  connecting  industrial  centers,  was  no  part  of  the  design 
of  the  builders.  As  late  as  1843,  twenty-five  hours  of  traveling 
with  four  changes  of  cars  was  the  fate  of  a  passenger  from  Albany 
to  Buffalo,  and  he  paid  $11  in  fares  for  the  journey. 

One  of  the  first  steps  toward  the  consolidation  of  short  local 
railways  into  trunk  lines  was  accomplished*  by  Cornelius  Vander- 
bilt.  Most  of  the  short  lines  of  New  York  were  hopelessly  in 
debt;  some  of  them  were  bankrupt.  Vanderbilt  purchased  them, 
one  after  another.  He  first  obtained  possession  of  the  short  lines 
north  of  New  York  City  ;  these  he  organized  into  the  New  York 


376  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

and  Hudson  River  Railroad.  Then  he  acquired  the  lines  between 
Albany  and  Buffalo,  which  he  consolidated  into  the  New  York 
Central  Railroad.  Finally,  he  combined  the  two,  and  created 
practically  the  first  trunk  line  in  America. 

The  value  and  necessity  of  trunk  lines  soon  became  apparent, 
and  most  of  the  existing  lines  were  thus  organized  by  1870.  It 
was  also  apparent  that  "  through  traffic  "  and  not  local  business 
between  stations  was  the  chief  carrying  business  of  the  trunk 
lines,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  two  great  markets  of  the  country 
lay  —  one  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  other  in  the  manu 
facturing  centers  of  the  United  States  and  in  Europe.1  After 
1865,  about  the  only  local  lines  of  railway  constructed  were  the 
branches  and  feeders  necessary  to  receive  and  distribute  the  traffic 
of  the  trunk  lines.  The  existing  lines  were  adjusted  and  the  new 
lines  were  built  so  that  the  branches  and  feeders  converged  at 
such  commercial  centers  as  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City, 
Omaha,  Minneapolis,  and  St.  Paul ;  the  trunk  lines  then  took  the 
traffic  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard.2 

Improvements  in  Railway  Construction.  —  Within  a  very  few 
years  after  the  Civil  War,  there  was  a  heavy  emigration  westward, 
and  the  amount  of  produce  grown  on  the  farms  had  reached 
such  enormous  proportions  that  the  existing  railways  could  not 
begin  to  handle  the  freight  delivered  to  them.  At  that  time  a 
locomotive  could  draw  scarcely  more  than  thirty  or  forty  loaded 
cars  on  a  level  ;  it  could  not  pull  them  up  an  ordinary  grade  with 
out  the  help  of  a  pusher.  More  cars  could  not  be  put  on  a  freight 
train  unless  the  locomotive  was  heavier,  and  a  heavier  locomotive 
would  quickly  destroy  the  rails. 

1  A  disregard  for  terminals  in  the  great  centers  of  population  was  shown  in 
the  building  of  the  Erie  Railroad.     Its  western  terminus  was  not  at  Buffalo,  but 
at  Dunkirk.     Its  eastern  traffic  stopped  not  at  New  York  City,  but  at  a  pier  on 
the  Hudson  River  about  twenty  miles  from  the  city.     The  projectors  of  the  road 
had  not  learned  that  commerce  cannot  be  forced  away  from  natural  centers  of 
production  and  distribution.    It  is  a  fundamental  law  of  railroad  science  that  one 
series  of  terminals  shall  be  in  producing  regions,  the  other  at  distributing  markets. 

2  Most  of  the  western  railroads  entering  Chicago  extend  to  at  least  two  or 
three  of  the  places  named  above.    Practically  every  one  has  a  dozen  or  more 
terminals  in  the  various  food-producing  regions.     Eastern  roads  seek,  in  addition, 
a  good  harbor  and  an  entrance  to  the  coal  fields. 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  377 

There  was  but  one  thing  to  do ;  namely,  to  make  the  rails  of 
steel ;  but  inasmuch  as  steel  made  by  the  ordinary  process  was 
worth  from  ten  to  twenty  cents  a  pound,  the  question 
was  a  serious  one.     In  1859,  however,  Sir  Henry  Bes-       jfteeiCmer 
seiner  had  perfected  a  process  by  which  steel  could  be 
made  at  a  much  lower  cost,  scarcely  more  than  that  of  casting 
iron.     It  was  at  once  decided  to  use  this  process  for  'the  making 
of  rails.     The  first  steel  rails  were  rolled  in  Chicago  in  1865,  and 
they  immediately  began  to  supersede  iron  rails. 

With  steel  rails  it  was  perfectly  safe  to  increase  the  weight  of 
the  locomotive  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  tons  or  more.  Bessemer 
steel  was  also  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  locomotive 
boiler,  which  could  thus  be  made  to  carry  steam  at  two  or  three 
times  as  great  pressure.  A  good  locomotive  could  not  only  haul 
twice  as  many  cars,1  but  it  could  haul  them  twice  as  fast.  Bessemer 
steel,  therefore,  more  than  doubled  the  carrying  power  of  the  rail 
ways. 

With  the  increased  weight  and   speed  of  the  railway  trains, 
the  hand  brake  was  no  longer  a  safe  device  with  which  to  control 
the  trains.     In  1869,  George  Westinghouse  invented  a      The  West- 
brake  that  was  operated  directly  from  the  engine  by      inghouse 
means  of  compressed  air.     The    air  brake  was  first     brake 
applied  to  passenger  trains ;  by  its  use  not  only  could  the  speed 
of  the  train  be  safely  increased,  but  trains  could  be  run  at  a  high 
speed  with   close  intervals   between   them.      Its   application   to 
freight  cars  is  now  compulsory. 

An  Epoch  of  Railway  Building.  —  Even  before  the  Civil  War  it 
had  been  demonstrated  that  grain-farming  would  not  pay  if  the 
farmer  was  compelled  to  haul  his  grain  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles  to  the  place  of  shipment.  All  through  the  states  of  the  Mid 
dle  West  there  was  an  abundance  of  good  land  that  needed  only 
transportation  facilities  to  make  it  productive.  Railway  promoters 
were  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  this.  In  the  twenty  years 
between  1850  and  1870  about  forty-four  thousand  miles  of  railway 
were  built  and  put  into  operation.  The  money  for  the  work  of 

1  A  modern  freight  locomotive  on  the  New  York  Central  Railway  draws  a 
load  of  ninety  or  more  box  cars,  each  carrying  sixty-six  thousand  pounds. 


378 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


construction  was  obtained  from  two  sources :  it  was  borrowed  in 

Europe,1   and    it  was  raised  from  the  sale  of  the  public  lands 

which  the  government  gave  for  the  purpose. 

Transcontinental  Railways. — At   the   time   of   the   Civil   War 

both  parts  of  the  coun 
try  were  desirous  of  a 
railway  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  About  1862  char 
ters  were  issued  to  two 
companies  —  the  Union 
Pacific  and  the  Central 
Pacific.  The  former 
built  from  Omaha  west 
ward  ;  the  latter  from 
Sacramento  eastward  to 
the  point  where  the  two 
lines  met.  Each  road 
received  a  loan  from  the 
government  varying  from 
116,000  to  $48,000  per 
mile.  The  government 
also  gave  the  railroad 
companies  public  lands, 
consisting  of  the  odd- 
numbered  sections  in  a 
strip  of  land  twenty 

miles  in  width,  along  the  entire  route  of  the  railway.     The  road 

was  completed  in  1869.2 

1  To  borrow  the  money  in  European  markets  was  not  a  difficult  matter.    In 
Europe  the  interest  on  large  sums  was  rarely  more  than  three  per  cent ;  invested 
in  secured  railway  bonds  in  the  United  States  it  commanded  from  four  to  six  per 
cent.     A  few  of  these  railways  were  good  investments  from  the  first ;  some  barely 
earned  their  operating  expenses  and  interest  for  many  years.     Some  were  hope 
lessly  insolvent  from  the  first.    The  most  of  them  did  not  pay  dividends  until 
they  had  built  up  and  peopled  the  territory  through  which  they  extended. 

2  In  building  the  road  the  companies  let  out  the  contract  for  construction  to 
themselves,  operating  under  a  different  charter,  known  as  the  Credit  Mobilier. 
The  scandals  connected  with  the  latter  company  were  such  that  public  sentiment 
set  strongly  against  granting  either  lands  or  subsidies  to  railways  thereafter  built. 


WHERE  THE  RAILROAD  PENETRATES  THE 
ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  379 

Neither  railway  paid  the  interest  or  principal  of  the  moneys 
advanced  by  the  government  until  forced  by  the  Congress  to  do 
so.  The  Union  Pacific  did  not  pay  its  indebtedness  until  1897 ; 
in  1899,  the  Central  Pacific  gave  its  promissory  notes  in  settle 
ment.  The  entire  indebtedness  of  the  two  roads  to  the  govern 
ment  amounted,  principal  and  interest,  to  about  $59,000,000.1 

In  the  course  of  twenty  years  other  transcontinental  railways 
were  built,  and  at  the  end  of  the  century  several  others  were 
under  way.  All  of  them  seemed  warranted  by  the  amount  of 
transcontinental  business.  One  road,  the  Great  Northern,  has 
a  history  that  is  unique  among  transcontinental  railways.  It 
did  not  receive  from  the  government  a  single  acre  of  land  or  a 
dollar  of  subsidy,  and  it  paid  from  the  start.  Mr. 
James  J.  Hill,  the  builder  of  the  road,  constructed  it  Northern1 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  lumber  from  Puget  Sound 
to  the  Eastern  markets.  In  order  to  get  a  return  business,  he 
invaded  the  markets  of  the  Orient,  carrying  American  cotton  to 
Japan  and  American  wheat  to  China.  He  not  only  built  the 
road,  but  he  also  created  the  business  for  it.  His  success  in 
these  ventures  constitutes  one  of  the  greatest  achievements  in 
the  history  of  American  commerce. 

Public  Land  Grants  to  Railways.  —  The  first  large  grant  in  aid 

The  scandals  did  not  cease  with  the  completion  of  the  roads ;  indeed,  they  did 
not  cease  until  the  roads  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  different  owners,  nearly 
thirty  years  afterward.  In  one  instance,  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway,  a  com 
pany  operated  by  the  Central  Pacific,  failed  to  build  the  road  through  a  certain 
region  in  California  for  which  the  lands  had  been  granted.  The  grant  was 
thought  to  be  forfeited,  and  settlers  took  possession  of  the  place  as  vacant 
government  lauds.  After  the  settlers  had  lived  on  them  many  years,  and  the 
ranches  had  acquired  great  value  because  of  the  extensive  irrigating  ditches 
and  other  improvements,  the  railway  company  claimed  the  lands  and  evicted 
the  occupants.  During  the  struggle  a  pitched  battle  between  the  United  States 
marshals  and  the  settlers  resulted  in  the  killing  of  a  dozen  or  more  men. 

In  the  action  between  the  railway  company  and  the  settlers,  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  decided  that  the  lands  could  become  forfeited  only  by 
an  act  of  the  Congress.  Such  an  act  had  not  been  passed,  and  this  decision 
defeated  the  settlers.  Some  of  the  ranchmen  destroyed  their  property  to  prevent 
its  falling  into  the  possession  of  the  railway  company. 

1  Long  before  this,  the  Central  Pacific  had  used  its  surplus  earnings  to  build, 
under  another  charter,  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway. 


380  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMEEICAN  NATION 

of  railway  building  was  made  to  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad. 
To  the  company  was  given  the  right  of  way  through  the  public 
lands  and  also  the  alternate  sections  of  a  strip  twelve  miles  wide, 
through  which  the  road  was  built.  The  price  of  the  remaining 
government  lands  was  increased  from  $1.25  to  $2.50  per  acre. 
The  same  plan  was  followed  in  the  case  of  almost  all  the  lands 
subsequently  granted  to  railway  companies.  At  the  close  of  the 
century,  the  public  lands  given  as  subsidies  aggregated  about 
ninety-eight  millions  of  acres  —  an  area  more  than  three  times 
that  of  New  York  State.  The  remaining  public  domain  of  the 
United  States  consists  mainly  of  arid  and  mountain  lands,  of 
little  value  without  the  construction  of  irrigation  systems. 

The  Growth  of  the  Steel-making  Industry.  —  The  manufacture  of 
iron  had  been  an  industry  of  the  country  for  more  than  a  century 
before  the  Civil  War,  but  at  its  best,  it  was  one  of  minor  impor 
tance.  By  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  a 
score  or  more  of  smelteries  and  blast  furnaces  in  the  New  Eng 
land  colonies,1  and  several  also  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  colo 
nies.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  famous 
mines  on  Lake  Cham  plain,  New  York,  were  opened.  In  this 
region  and  northern  New  Jersey  there  came  to  be  about  two  hun 
dred  furnaces  and  forges.  Just  before  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
about  six  thousand  tons  of  iron  were  exported  yearly  to  the  West 
IndieSo  In  1810  the  output  of  the  entire  country  was  a  little 
more  than  fifty  thousand  tons  of  pig  iron  and  nine  hundred  tons 
of  steel.  At  the  close  of  the  century,  the  production  of  steel 
alone  was  more  than  ten  millions  of  tons. 

The  use  of  steel  rails  created  a  tremendous  demand  for 
Bessemer  steel.  The  iron  ores  of  the  Appalachian  ranges  were 
not  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  steel,  but  those  of  the  ranges 
on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior  proved  to  be  very  fine  ores 
for  that  purpose.  Moreover^  the  Lake  Superior  ore  could  be 
mined  and  transported  more  cheaply  than  could  the  ores  in  the 

1  One  of  these  furnaces  was  established  at  Scituate,  Massachusetts,  by  Mor- 
decai  Lincoln,  an  ancestor  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  father  of  George  Washing 
ton  also  owned  one.  In  1792  a  small  blast  furnace  was  built  at  Two-mile  Kun, 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  but  it  was  abandoned  for  want  of  ore. 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


381 


central  part  of  Pennsylvania.  Because  of  these  mines  the  United 
States  has  become  the  greatest  steel-making  country  in  the  world. 
Textile  Manufactures  developed  in  the  South.  — The  growth  of 
cotton  textile  manufacture  in  the  South  was  one  of  the  readjust 
ments  that  were  bound  to  come  about  in  the  course  of  time.  The 
building  of  railways,  together  with  the  possibilities  of  good  water 
power  and  cheap  fuel,  had  much  to  do  with  bringing  the  result 
about.  '  The  fact  that  it  was  very  poor  economy  to  send  cotton 
a  thousand  miles  away  to  be  manufactured  into  cloth  resulted  in 


SHIPPING  IRON  ORE  FROM  THE  LAKE  SUPERIOR  MINES. 

the  building  of  many  hundred  mills  in  the  South,  as  soon  as  the 
problems  of  transportation  and  fuel  were  solved.  In  the  amount 
of  cloth  made,  the  output  of  the  Southern  mills  was  not  far 
behind  that  of  the  New  England  mills  at  the  close  of  the  nine 
teenth  century. 

Electrical  Inventions. — With  the  exception  of  its  use  in  the 
telegraph  and  occasionally  in  medicine,  electricity  had  not  been 
used  in  the  various  arts  and  sciences  before  1870.  Up  to  that 
time  there  were  but  two  sorts  of  generators  of  the  electric  current 
—  the  frictional  machine  and  the  galvanic  battery.  The  former 


382 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Electric 
motors 


was  nothing  more  than  a  toy;  the  latter  was  confined  to  teleg 
raphy  and  medicine. 

Early  in  the  seventies  several  inventors  set  themselves  to  the 
task  of  inventing  an  electric  generator  which  should  produce  a 
current   strong  enough  to  operate   machinery.1     This 
they  succeeded  in  doing,  and  the  successful  machine  is 
the  universally  used  dynamo.     The  applications  of  a 
generator  of  this  sort  proved  to  be  almost  endless.     The  first  use 

to   which   it   was   put   was    the 
electric  arc  light.     Shortly  after 
ward  it  was  found  that  a  modi 
fied,  form  of  the  dynamo  might 
be  used  as  an  independent  motor 
that  could  be  attached  to  almost 
any  kind    of   machinery.     As    a 
result,    street    cars    driven    by 
electricity     immediately     began 
to  take  the  place  of  horse  cars. 
The   telephone   came  into  use 
early  in  the  seventies.     Success 
ful    telephones    had    been    con 
structed    by    Elisha    Gray    and 
Professor  A.  E.  Dolbear  of  Tufts 
College.    The  apparatus  patented 
by  Alexander  Graham  Bell,  however,  superseded  all  others.     The 
telephone  quickly  became  a  necessity  in  business ;  its 
use  has  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  civilized 
and  uncivilized. 

The  Great  Financial  Crash.  1873.  —  European  financiers  have 
always  claimed  that  the  management  of  financial  affairs  in  the 
United  States  is  not  wholly  safe,  and  the  charge  is  probably  true. 

1  Applying  certain  principles  brought  to  notice  by  Gramme  and  by  Siemens, 
Mr.  George  F.  Brush  built  a  generator  in  which  bobbins  of  insulated  copper 
wire,  wound  around  coils  of  iron,  revolved  rapidly  between  powerful  electro 
magnets.  By  this  means  a  current  great  in  quantity  and  high  in  potential 
was  generated.  The  machine  was  called  a  dynamo-electric  generator,  or 
dynamo.  About  the  same  time,  similar  generators  were  invented  by  Edison, 
and  by  Messrs.  Thompson  and  Houston. 


ALEXANDER  GRAHAM  BELL. 


The  tele 
phone 


INDUSTRIAL   DEVELOPMENT  383 

Financial  panics  ought  not  to  occur  at  all,  and  they  are  rare  in 
most  European  nations ;  in  the  United  States  they  have  occurred 
with  unpleasant  frequency. 

During  the  few  years  succeeding  the  Civil  War,  the  finances  of 
the  country  were  in  a  somewhat  strained  condition,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  bills  and  currency  issued  by  the  Treasury 
were  not  worth  their  face  value  in  gold.1  Unfortu- 
nately  at  this  time  several  things  occurred  that  made 
an  imperative  demand  for  money,  and  plenty  of  it.  The  money 
was  needed  chiefly  to  complete  the  many  miles  of  railway  then 
under  construction,  and  to  rebuild  the  cities  of  Chicago  and 
Boston,  which  had  been  almost  destroyed  by  fire.  There  were, 
besides,  other  demands  for  large  amounts  of  money. 

What  was  still  more  unfortunate,  about  the  only  source  of  ready 
money  was  closed  by  some  very  unwise  legislation.  In  most  of 
the  states,  the  farmers  and  the  railway  managers 
could  not  agree.  The  farmers  claimed  that  freight 
rates  on  their  produce  were  so  high  that  they  could  not 
pay  the  interest  on  the  mortgages  against  their  farms.  The  rail 
way  men  pointed  out  the  fact  that  even  the  excessive  rates 
charged  did  not  pay  the  operating  expenses  of  the  roads.  Both 
claims  were  true.  The  farmers  then  went  to  their  various  state 
legislatures  and  brought  about  the  passage  of  the  famous 
"granger"  laws,  which  gave  to  state  legislatures  the  right  to  fix 
the  freight  charges  and  fares  of  the  railroads. 

As  a  result,  the  railway  companies  were  so  badly  crippled  that 
few  capitalists  cared  to  buy  either  their  bonds  or  their  stocks. 
An  important  source  of  income  had  been  the  foreign  purchasers 
of  railway  securities,  and  when  they  ceased  to  send  their  gold  to 
the  United  States  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  money.  The 
banks  found  themselves  short  of  ready  money.  A  demand  upon 
the  important  house  of  Jay  Cooke  and  Company  caused  that  bank 
to  fail  in  September,  1873,  and  then  began  the  most  serious  panic 
in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  Almost  the  whole  country 
became  involved.  In  two  years  there  were  eleven  thousand  fail 
ures,  and  industrial  enterprises  came  to  a  halt  all  over  the  land. 

i  See  p.  343. 


384  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Specie  Payment  Resumed.     1879.  —  There  was  a  general  demand 

for   more   money,    which   certainly    was    needed.     Many   people 

thought  that  the  trouble  could  be  cured  by  the  issue 

A(?  J         a  of  more  greenbacks.     So  an  act  commonly  called  the 

Inflation  Bill  passed  the  Congress,  providing  for  the 

issue  of  $44,000,000  in  greenbacks,  thus  raising  the  entire  issue 

to  $400,000,000.     President  Grant  vetoed  the  act  (1874). 

The  next  act  passed  by  the  Congress  in  the  matter  (1875)  was 
wise.  It  provided  that  the  fractional  paper  currency  might  be 
exchanged  through  the  post  offices  and  subtreasuries  for  silver 
coin.  It  provided  also  for  the  purchase  of  gold  coin  with  the 
surplus  money  that  accumulated  in  the  Treasury,  and  also  with 
bonds  issued  for  the  purpose.  It  arranged  for  the  recalling  of 
many  of  the  greenbacks,  and  specified  that  after  January  1,  1879, 
all  greenbacks  should  be  redeemed  on  demand.1 

The  Silver  Question.  —  About  1859  the  famous  Comstock  silver- 
bearing  lode  was  discovered  in  the  western  part  of  Nevada.  The 
mines  of  this  lode  at  once  became  productive.  They  not  only 
yielded  an  enormous  amount  of  silver,  but  their  discovery  led  to 
the  discovery  and  development  of  many  silver  mines  in  other 
parts  of  Nevada.  In  the  course  of  ten  years  the  pro- 
demonetized  Auction  of  silver  began  to  exceed  the  amount  required 
for  silver  coin.  In  the  United  States  the  price  of 
silver  had  been  fixed  at  $1.2929  per  Troy  ounce,  and  it  was  worth 
about  the  same  in  European  countries.  Inasmuch  as  more  silver 
was  mined  than  was  needed,  the  market  price  began  to  fall  rapidly. 
As  a  result  most  of  the  European  countries  demonetized  it ;  that 
is,  they  ceased  to  coin  it  except  in  very  small  amounts,  and  declared 
that  it  should  not  be  a  legal  tender,  or  lawful  payment,  except 
for  very  small  amounts  (usually  less  than  the  equivalent  of  five 
dollars).  In  1873  the  United  States  took  the  same  action. 

The  Bland- Allison  Bill.  1878.  —  The  passage  of  the  act  demone 
tizing  silver  angered  two  classes  of  people.  The  silver  mines 
and  all  persons  depending  upon  them  saw  their  business  ruined  by 
the  low  price  of  the  metal  and  the  loss  of  a  market  for  it.  The 

1  In  1878,  however,  the  Congress  authorized  the  continued  issue  of  greenbacks, 
and  the  amount  in  circulation  in  1906  is  about  $350,000,000. 


INDUSTRIAL   DEVELOPMENT  385 

Western  farmers  were  angered  because  there  was  a  scarcity  of 
money,  which  they  attributed  to  stopping  the  coinage  of  silver.1 
They  claimed  that  it  made  the  payments  on  the  mortgages 
against  their  property  far  more  difficult  to  meet.  This  difficulty 
of  payment  certainly  existed ;  the  banks  had  become  more  exact 
ing  and  required  their  debtors  to  pay  promptly  or  lose  their 
farms.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  widespread  distress. 

To  meet  these  conditions  two  laws  were  enacted  by  the  Con 
gress.  One  of  them  restored  the  issue  of  greenbacks ;  the  other, 
presented  by  Mr.  Bland  of  Missouri,  was  far  more  important  — 
three  of  its  provisions  became  national  issues.  These  were  — 

Making  gold  sixteen  times  the  value  of  silver;  that  is,  fixing  a 

ratio  of  sixteen  to  one. 

Making  silver  dollars  a  legal  tender  for  debts. 
Coining  all  silver  bullion  brought  to  the  mints  without  cost  to  the 

holder. 

The  Senate  rejected  the  last  provision,  but  passed  instead  Sena 
tor  Allison's  amendment  requiring  the  secretary  of  the  treasury 
to  purchase  not  less  than  two  million  nor  more  than  four  million 
dollars'  worth  of  silver  each  month  and  to  coin  the  silver  into 
dollars.  President  Hayes  vetoed  the  bill,  but  the  Congress  passed 
it  over  his  veto.2 

Silver  Certificates.  1879.  —  One  year  later  another  important  act 
became  law.  The  silver  dollars  were  very  cumbersome  and  incon 
venient  to  carry  about ;  so  the  Silver  Certificate  Act  was  passed, 
providing  that  the  coins. might  be  deposited  in  the  United  States 
Treasury,  and  that  certificates  should  be  issued  for  them.  These 
certificates  passed  from  hand  to  hand  in  business,  and  were  money 
to  all  intents  and  purposes. 

The  Sherman  Act.  1890.  —  Business  matters  dragged  along  with 
little  change  for  nearly  twenty  years  after  the  passage  of  the 
Bland-Allison  Bill.  Trade  did  not  materially  improve  nor  did 
it  suffer  much.  It  was  certainly  better  in  the  Western  farming 
region,  for  the  farmers  had  become  more  cautious  about  borrow 
ing  money,  and  they  were  generally  beginning  to  clear  their  farms 

1  The  scarcity  of  money  was  really  due  to  the  causes  noted  on  page  383. 

2  See  page  362. 


386  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

of  mortgages.  The  silver  mines  were  much  worse  off,  however, 
for  the  price  of  silver  fell  steadily  until  it  was  worth  less  than 

$1  per  ounce.     So  the  silver  miners  urged  the  Con- 
Free  Silver  °        .        • 

gress  to  pass  a  bill  providing  tor  the  tree  coinage  of 

silver ;  that  is,  if  a  man  had  silver  bullion  or  foreign  silver  coins, 
which  he  could  buy  for  about  a  dollar  an  ounce,  he  could  take 
them  to  the  mint  and  have  them  coined  into  standard  dollars, 
which  would  then  be  worth  about  $1.29  4-  per  ounce  of  pure 
silver.  The  bill  failed  to  pass. 

Senator  Sherman  then  presented  a  substitute  bill  that  became  law 
(1890).  Instead  of  coining  from  two  million  to  four  million  stand 
ard  dollars  a  month,  the  bill  provided  that  the  United  States  Treas 
ury  should  purchase  not  less  than  four  and  one  half  million  ounces 
of  silver  each  month,  paying  for  it  in  treasury  notes.  Moreover, 
these  treasury  notes,  which  practically  were  ordinary  greenbacks, 
were  to  be  redeemed  in  coin  when  the  holder  presented  them  to 
the  Treasury.1  This  act  certainly  helped  the  silver  miners.  The 
mine  owner  would  take,  say,  ten  thousand  ounces  of  silver  to  the 
mint,  and  get  his  pay  in  treasury  notes ;  he  would  then  take 
the  latter  to  the  Treasury  or  to  a  bank,  and  exchange  them  not 
for  silver  dollars,  but  for  gold  coin.  The  Sherman  Act  kept  the 
silver  mines  going,  which  was  beneficial ;  but  it  hurt  business  in 
nearly  all  commercial  centers  in  which  there  was  a  foreign  trade, 
for,  China  and  Mexico  excepted,  American  silver  dollars  would 
not  be  taken  at  their  face  value. 

The  Gold  Reserve.  1893. — In  order  to  redeem  these  treasury 
notes,  the  Treasury  set  aside  a  sum  of  gold  that  was  intended  to 
be  kept  at  an  amount  not  less  than  $100,000,000.  This  sum  of 
money  came  to  be  called  the  gold  reserve.  In  the  course  of  two 
years  so  much  of  this  reserve  was  used  to  purchase  silver  for 
coining  instead  of  redeeming  greenbacks  that  the  amount  of  gold 
on  hand  was  far  below  the  required  sum.  By  1893  there  were 
about  $500,000,000  in  greenbacks  and  treasury  notes  in  circula- 

1  A  standard  silver  dollar  containing  nine  parts  of  silver  and  one  of  copper 
weighs  4122  grains;  two  silver  half  dollars  weigh  385  grains.  With  the  price  of 
silver  at  $1  per  ounce,  the  former  is  worth  about  80  cents.  At  the  close  of  the 
century  the  intrinsic,  or  bullion,  value  of  a  standard  dollar  was  about  sixty  cents. 


IND U STRIA L   DEVEL OPMENT 


387 


tion  and  considerably  less  than  $100,000,000  in  gold  to  redeem 
them  with.  On  several  occasions  President  Cleveland  authorized 
the  purchase  of  gold  to  keep  the  reserve  intact,  for  which  bonds 
were  issued.  He  was  severely  criticised  for  doing  so,  but  his 
action  was  absolutely  necessary.  The  public  debt,  of  course, 
began  to  increase  again,  and  nearly  $300,000,000  was  added  to  it. 
Averting  a  Panic.  —  Just  about  this  time,  too,  the  shipments  of 
gold  to  the  United  States  decreased  to  an  alarming  extent.  There 
were  hard  times  in  Europe  and  there  was  but  little  money  to 
invest;  moreover,  those  who  had  the  means  to  invest  feared  that 


SILVER  BULLION  AT  THE  MINE. 

they  would  be  paid  in  silver  instead  of  gold.  What  made  matters 
still  worse,  the  American  people  all  over  the  country  began  to 
hoard  the  gold  that  came  into  their  possession.  As  a  result,  there 
was  but  little  money  to  carry  on  the  various  business  enterprises. 
The  banks  began  to  suffer,  and  in  many  instances  frightened 
depositors  started  "  runs  "  on  the  banks.  Fortunately,  the  banks 
had  learned  by  the  experience  of  the  past ;  whenever  a  run  on 
a  bank  was  started,  the  others  supplied  it  with  the  necessary 
cash  to  meet  its  payments.  So,  although  the  times  were  very 
hard  and  many  industrial  enterprises  were  suspended,  there  were 
not  many  failures  among  the  banks. 


388  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  Silver  Purchase  Clause  Repealed.  1893.  —  The  fear  that  the 
country  would  drift  into  the  adoption  of  silver  instead  of  gold  as 
the  basis  of  business  alarmed  the  people,  especially  in  the  East, 
and  President  Cleveland  called  the  Congress  in  extra  session  in 
order  to  discuss  the  repealing  of  that  part  of  the  Sherman  Act 
that  compelled  the  Treasury  to  purchase  so  much  silver.  It  very 
quickly  became  a  contest  between  the  financial  leaders  of  the  East 
and  the  silver  miners  of  the  West.  The  former  desired  to  have 
gold  as  the  basis  of  business ;  the  latter  desired  to  have  silver. 
For  the  greater  part,  the  farmers  of  the  Middle  West  and  the 


THE  UNITED  STATES  MINT  AT  PHILADELPHIA. 

South  took  sides  with  the  silver  miners.  The  Congress,  never 
theless,  repealed  the  silver  purchase  clause  of  the  Sherman  Act. 

The  Free  Silver  Coinage  Movement.  —  Stopping  the  purchase  of 
silver  did  not  bring  about  prosperity ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  a 
most  severe  blow  to  the  Eocky  Mountain  states.  Many  mines 
were  closed,  and  about  one  hundred  thousand  employees  became 
idle.  The  depressed  state  of  business  likewise  affected  the 
farming  communities,  and  they  also  were  in  distress. 

Consequently,  there  arose  a  movement  that  had  a  very  wide 
spread  following.  It  became  a  part  of  the  policy  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  and  twice  caused  the  defeat  of  that  party.  It  first 


INDUSTRIAL   DEVELOPMENT  389 

took  form  in  a  convention  at  Denver;  then  it  took  shape  at 
Chicago  as  the  National  Bimetallic  League.  The  platform  of  the 
party  demanded  that  if  the  government  stopped  the  purchase  of 
silver,  then  the  holder  or  owner  of  silver  should  be  permitted  to 
take  his  metal  to  the  mint  and  have  it  returned  to  him  in  the 
form  of  standard  dollars.  In  1896,  and  again  in  1900,  this  policy 
was  the  issue  of  the  presidential  election ;  both  times  the  party 
advocating  it  was  defeated. 

The  Rise  of  the  Clearing  House.  —  Although  the  volume  of  busi 
ness  throughout  the  country  has  increased  many  times  over,  the 
amount  of  money  required  for  the  transaction  of  business  has 
increased  but  little.  Nowadays,  scarcely  one  tenth  of  the  busi 
ness  debts  incurred  is  paid  in  money.  Business  firms  and  people 
who  have  their  accounts  at  a  bank  usually  pay  their  accounts  by 
check  ;  that  is,  a  man  signs  an  order,  requiring  the  bank  in  which 
his  money  is  deposited  to  pay  to  the  person  or  firm  designated  a 
certain  sum  of  money. 

In  a  large  city  many  thousand  checks  are  daily  presented  to  the 
banks.  Every  day  certain  clerks  of  the  various  banks  meet  at  the 
clearing  house,  where  each  bank  receives  the  checks  drawn  against 
it,  and  these  are  exchanged  dollar  for  dollar.  The  balances  remain 
ing  to  be  paid  in  cash  or  to  be  credited  are  very  small  in  compari 
son  with  the  aggregate  value  of  all.  In  New  York  City,  for  instance, 
the  daily  business  of  the  clearing  house  has  averaged  as  much  as 
a  quarter  of  a  billion  dollars.  If  all  this  were  paid  in  gold,  more 
than  six  hundred  trucks  or  wagons  would  be  required  to  distribute 
it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  less  than  one  dollar  in  a  thousand  is 
actually  paid  in  cash.  The  clearing  house  is  therefore  a  great  aid 
to  the  rapid  transaction  of  business. 

The  Development  of  the  Trust.  —  The  employment  of  a  chartered 
company  or  corporation  instead  of  a  partnership  agreement  in  the 
transaction  of  business  is  no  new  thing.  The  corporate 
company  existed  in  the  Roman  republic,  and  always 
has  been  an  established  fact  in  Europe  and  America. 
Such  institutions  as  the  railways,  insurance  companies,  and  other 
large  concerns  could  not  be  successfully  carried  on  as  partnerships 
or  firms.  Just  after  the  Civil  War  business  enterprises  grew  in 


390  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

magnitude  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  no  longer  expedient  to 
conduct  them  as  private  partnerships  ;  hence  a  great  many  of 
them  became  incorporated  companies,  or  corporations.  The  prin 
ciple  was  a  good  one;  the  men  who  controlled  them  were  not 
always  good,  however. 

One  result  was  to  be  expected,  and  would  have  occurred  inevit 
ably.     Companies  in  the  same  line  of  business  w^ere  thrown  into 
fierce  competition.    In  order  to  undersell  one  another, 
the  prices  to  their  customers  were  cut  down  until  two 
things  were  bound  to  happen :  the  quality  of  the  articles  or  com 
modities   deteriorated,   and   the   wages   to   the   employees   were 
lowered  to  starvation  figures. 

Between  1880  and  1890  it  occurred  to  the  managers  of  the 
concerns  doing  the  same  kind  of  business  that  if  they  were  to 
unite  under  a  single  head  they  would  accomplish  two  things : 
they  would  save  much  expense  in  the  matter  of  management,  and 
they  could  avoid  competing  with  one  another  and  thereby  fix  higher 
prices  for  their  commodities. 

The  combining  of  interests  was  managed  in  two  ways.     The 
directors  of  the  corporations  to  be   united  might   assign   their 
interests  to  a  general  board  of  trustees.     The  latter 
would   then   manage  the  affairs  of   the  consolidated 
companies,  and  pay  over  a  stipulated  amount  from  the   yearly 
earnings  to  each  company.     This  method  of  consolidating  compa 
nies  is  known  as  a  trust. 

In  other   cases   the  different   companies  would   agree   among 
themselves  as  to  the  prices  at  which  their  commodities  were  to 
be  sold.     All  returns  from  sales  were  turned  over  to 
designated  officers,  who  divided  them  among  the  vari 
ous  companies   according   to   agreement.      If   more   goods  were 
produced   than   could  profitably  be    sold,   some   of  the  factories 
would  be  closed;  the  closed  factories,  however,  were  paid  a  cer 
tain  percentage  of  the  receipts.     This  method  of  combination  is  a 
pool.     All  such  combinations,  however,  became  generally  known 
as  trusts. 

As  a  matter  of  business,  trusts  and  pools,  as  a  rule,  have  been 
good  measures  ;  but  the  moral  effect  very  frequently  was  bad, 


INDUSTRIAL   DEVELOPMENT 


391 


because  they  were  often  controlled  by  unscrupulous  men.  In 
many  instances  smaller  concerns  were  forced  to  sell  out  to  the 
larger  combinations,  not  by  open  competition,  but  by  illicit 
means.  In  several  instances  the  trusts  became  monopolies  that 
were  dangerous,  because  they  controlled  not  only  the  output  of 
the  necessary  food-stuffs,  but  the  price  of  them  as  well. 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITOL,  AT  WASHINGTON. 

Anti-trust  Legislation.  —  In  various  instances  the  acts  of  these 
combinations   became   so   decidedly  contrary  to   public  welfare 
that  much  legislation,  both  national  and  state,  was 
directed   against   them.       The    Congress   passed   the       manAct 
Sherman  Anti-trust  Act  (1890),  forbidding  all  com 
binations  that  in  any  way  restrained  the  output  and  commerce  of 
commodities.     This   law  helped   to   prevent    such   combinations 
in  trade  as  might  bring  about  a  monopoly  in   the  commodities 
that  are  necessary  to  life. 

The  principles  of  the  Sherman  Act  have  been  made  the  founda 
tion  of  much  state  legislation.     The  act  itself  was  most  bitterly 


392  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

contested  in  the  courts,  but  it  was  finally  upheld  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  Because  of  the  act,  most  of  the 
trusts  and  pools  were  declared  illegal  and  were  dissolved ;  the 
companies  were  then  compelled  to  become  ordinary  corporations, 
subject  to  the  laws  of  the  state  in  which  they  did  business. 

Railroad  Pools.  —  The  study  of  an  ordinary  railway  folder  will 
show  that  many  of  the  principal  railways  have  the  same  cities 
for  terminals.  Nearly  a  dozen  lines  have  their  two  terminals  in 
Chicago  and  New  York  City.  After  years  of  sharp  competition, 
that  kept  some  of  them  practically  in  bankruptcy,  the  railways 
agreed  upon  the  plan  of  fixing  for  each  kind  of  traffic  a  given  rate 
that  should  apply  to  all  roads.  The  earnings  were  then  divided. 
This  plan,  which  is  a  pool  pure  and  simple,  proved  to  be  the  best 
that  had  been  devised.  In  the  meantime  it  had  been  adopted  by 
law  in  several  European  states. 

The  Sherman  Act  made  pooling  illegal,  inasmuch  as  such  action 
was  declared  to  prevent  free  competition.1  The  railways  were 
therefore  required  to  dissolve  their  pooling  associations.  In 
several  instances  railway  companies  were  consolidated  in  order  to 
avoid  the  'application  of  the  law ;  for  although  two  or  more  roads 
might  not  pool  their  earnings,  there  would  be  no  pool  if  the  two 
lines  were  consolidated.  The  consolidation  of  competing  lines 
was  carried  on  to  the  extent  that,  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  two  hundred  thousand  miles  of  railroad  in  the  coun 
try  were  grouped  in  about  a  dozen  great  systems  which  were  owned 
or  controlled  by  less  than  a  dozen  men. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  —  In  order  to  settle  the 
dispute  between  the  shipper  and  the  railway  company,  and  also 
to  decide  certain  questions  arising  among  the  railway  companies 
themselves,  the  Congress  (1887)  passed  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act.  The  act  created  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  of 
five  members.  This  body  has  the  power  to  investigate  complaints 
and  to  award  damages,  but  it  has  very  limited  power  to  enforce 
its  orders. 

The  Elkins  Rebate  Act.  1903.  —  Between  1880  and  the  close  of 
the  century,  certain  railways  had  been  giving  lower  rates  to  some 

1  It  had  also  been  declared  illegal  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  of  1887. 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  393 

of  their  customers  than  to  others.  As  a  result,  the  less  favored 
ones  had  either  been  driven  out  of  business  entirely  or  had  been 
compelled  to  sell  their  business  to  their  more  favored  competitors. 
This  was  clearly  against  the  laws.  The  laws,  however,  were  not 
openly  broken  but  were  evaded ;  the  favored  shipper  paid  full 
rates  at  the  time  of  shipment,  but  afterward  received  a  rebate  of 
a  part  of  the  payment.  The  Elkins  Act,  passed  in  1903,  to  remedy 
certain  defects  in  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  forbade  the  giving 
of  rebates ;  but  inasmuch  as  they  are  given  indirectly,  convictions 
for  violations  of  the  law  have  been  very  difficult  to  procure.  In 
the  latter  part  of  1905,  however,  one  of  the  great  meat  packing 
companies  was  convicted  and  fined  $25,000. 


SUMMARY 

The  few  years  following  the  Civil  War  were  an  epoch  of  railway 
building.  This  brought  about  the  substitution  of  steel  in  the  place 
of  iron  rails,  which  vastly  increased  the  carrying  power  of  the  rail 
ways.  The  most  important  of  the  railways  were  the  transcontinental 
lines. 

Among  electrical  inventions  were  the  telephone  and  the  generators  of 
powerful  currents  that  could  be  applied  to  motors  for  machinery  and 
street  cars,  and  also  to  illumination. 

A  great  financial  crash  occurred  in  1873,  due  to  the  sudden  needs  for 
ready  money  to  rebuild  the  burnt  districts  of  Chicago  and  Boston  and  to 
complete  unfinished  railways.  Unwise  legislation  had  made  it  very 
difficult  to  borrow  money  in  Europe  for  railway  building. 

Specie  payment  was  resumed  in  1879. 

The  amount  of  silver  mined  in  the  seventies  proved  greater  than  the 
demand;  the  price  of  the  metal  therefore  fell.  Silver  was  generally 
demonetized  in  1873. 

The  Bland-Allison  Act  required  the  government  to  coin  from  two 
million  to  four  million  silver  dollars  monthly;  the  Sherman  Silver  Act 
required  the  government  to  purchase  4,500,000  ounces  of  silver  each 
month.  This  act  was  repealed  in  1893,  on  account  of  the  fall  in  the 
value  of  the  silver  dollar. 

Fierce  competition  led  to  the  consolidation  of  smaller  establish 
ments  of  similar  character  into  combinations  and  trusts.  The  Sher 
man  Anti-Trust  Act  made  illegal  all  agreements  which  restrain  the 


394  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

free  movement  of  trade.     This  act  also  applied  to  railway  pools.     The 
Elkins  Act  made  the  giving  of  rebates  illegal. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  was  established  for  the  purpose 
of  regulating  disputed  matters  between  the  railways  and  the  shippers. 


COLLATERAL   READING 

Railroad  Transportation  —  Hadley. 

American  Railway  Transportation  —  Johnson. 

Strategy  of  the  Railways  —  Spearman. 

Advanced  Civics  —  Forman.     Chapters  XLIII,  XLVII 


CHAPTER   XXI 

THE   SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR  AND  TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION 

The  Cuban  Question.  —  Since  the  very  beginning  of  the  American 
nation  there  have  been  occasional  periods  of  friction  with  Spain 
on  account  of  her  possessions  in  the  West  Indies.1  The  governors- 
general  of  Cuba,  who  were  appointed  by  the  Spanish  Crown,  were 
not  always  tactful  in  their  dealings  with  the  Americans  in  Cuba, 
nor  were  they  quite  so  mindful  of  the  rights  of  foreigners  as  they 
should  have  been.  In  part  this  was  due  to  Spanish  hatred  of 
republican  institutions ;  in  no  slight  degree,  however,  it  resulted 
from  the  doings  of  American  adventurers  and  demagogues,  who 
very  frequently  created  trouble.  As  is  usually  the  case,  American 
merchants  and  traders  suffered  most  from  this  state  of  affairs. 
The  Spanish  authorities  in  Cuba  were  accustomed  to  show  their 
dislike  for  Americans  by  various  annoying  exactions  in  trade  and 
by  scant  protection  to  the  property  of  American  citizens  in  Cuba. ' 

Occasionally  American  statesmen  had  expressed  a  desire  to  an 
nex  the  island  of  Cuba.  President  Adams  was  not  adverse  to  hold 
ing  Cuba  "  as  a  pledge  for  a  loan."  ;  In  1848  Secretary  of  State 
(afterward  President)  Buchanan  proposed  the  purchase  of  the 
island  for  $100,000,000;  in  the  Ostend  Manifesto  (1854)  he 
boldly  advocated  its  seizure.3  He  thought  it  necessary  to  take 

1  In  1807  there  was  danger  of  a  French  occupation  of  the  Spanish  possessions  in 
the  West  Indies;  a  few  years  later  (1819)  it  seemed  as  though  Great  Britain  had 
designs  upon  Cuba.     In  18(51  France  was  again  a  menace. 

2  Jefferson,  Monroe,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Jackson,  Polk,  and  Pierce  were  of 
the  opinion  that  Cuba  should  be  annexed  to  the  United  States,  but  no  one  of  them 
cared  to  take  the  responsibility  of  bringing  about  a  war  with  Spain. 

3  "If  Cuba  in  the  possession  of  Spain  seriously  endangers  our  internal  peace 
and  the  existence  of  our  cherished  Union,  then  by  every  law,  human  and  divine, 
we  shall  be  justified  in  wresting  it  from  Spain." 

395 


396  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

this  step  in  order  to  maintain  slavery.  The  people,  however, 
were  strongly  opposed  to  anything  of  the  kind. 

The  Case  of  the  Black  Warrior.  1854.  —  In  1854  the  American 
steamship  Black  Warrior  was  seized  in  the  Port  of  Havana  and 
ordered  to  be  confiscated.  It  was  a  high-handed  affair,  and  popu 
lar  indignation  in  the  United  States  reached  the  danger  point. 
The  Spanish  authorities  disavowed  the  act,  however,  and  vessel 
and  cargo  were  surrendered  to  the  owners.  Nevertheless,  on  both 
sides,  the  work  of  fomenting  discord  went  along  without  inter 
ruption.  The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  probably  averted  for 
a  time  a  clash  between  the  two  nations. 

The  Revolt  of  the  Cubans ;  the  Virginius  Affair.  1868-1878. — A  few 
years  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  the  Cubans  revolted  (1868) 
against  Spanish  rule  and,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  American  authori 
ties,  much  of  the  work  of  organizing  the  rebellion  was  carried 
on  secretly  in  the  United  States.  The  methods  'of  the  Spanish 
authorities  in  putting  down  the  rebellion  were  barbarous  and 
atrocious,  and  it  seemed  that  peaceful  citizens  had  no  rights, 
either  of  property  or  person,  to  be  respected.  There  was  a  gen 
eral  feeling  of  irritation  throughout  the  United  States.  In  the 
meantime  the  trade  between  the  two  countries,  which  had  grad 
ually  increased  to  about  $100,000,000  yearly,  was  destroyed,  and 
the  financial  losses  that  resulted  were  very  great. 

During  the  revolt  (1873)  the  steamship  Virginius,  sailing  from 
New  York  and  registered  as  an  American  vessel,  was  captured  by 
The  a,  Spanish  warship  and  brought  into  a  Cuban  port. 

Virginius  About  fifty  of  her  officers  and  crew  were  tried  by  a 
military  court  and  shot,  notwithstanding  the  protests  of  the 
American  government  and  a  positive  order  from  the  Spanish 
government  for  the  civil  trial  of  the  prisoners.  Popular  indigna 
tion  in  the  United  States  reached  the  danger  point  again,  and 
only  the  firmness  of  President  Grant  prevented  action  that  cer 
tainly  would  have  led  to  war  with  Spain,  When  the  case  was 
investigated,  however,  it  was  learned  that  the  registry  of  the  Vir 
ginius  had  been  obtained  by  fraud,  and  that  she  was  engaged  in 
an  act  which  was  illegal  and  hostile  toward  the  Spanish  govern 
ment.  The  latter  paid  an  indemnity  to  the  families  of  the 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN   WAR  397 

American   citizens1   who   had   been   shot,   and   surrendered   the 
Virginius.2 

The  Cuban  revolt  had  no  tangible  result  except  to  bring  death 
and  misery  to  thousands  of  innocent  Cubans.    Trade  was  strangled 
and  bankruptcy  overtook  many  whose  bread  and  but 
ter  depended  on  a  peaceful  commerce  between  the  two 
countries.     President  Grant  suggested  a  friendly  mediation  be 
tween  the  insurrectionists  and  the  Spanish  government,  but  his 
offer  was  not  considered.     But  there  was  so  much  talk  of  the  inter 
vention  of  foreign  powers  that  Spain  offered  the  Cubans  certain 
concessions,  and  after  about  ten  years  of  wrar,  hostilities  ceased. 

Peace  was  not  of  long  duration,  however,  for  the  Spanish  offi 
cials  in  Cuba  forgot  the  promises  made  by  the  government,  and 
not  only  started  anew  the  heavy  trade  exactions  in  American 
the  shape  of  fines  and  overcharges,  but  flatly  refused  trade  mo- 
to  pay  for  the  property  of  Americans  which  had  been 
confiscated  during  the  rebellion.  So  matters  went  on  for  a  decade. 
Several  filibustering  expeditions  were  secretly  fitted  out  in  Amer 
ican  ports,  with  the  result  that  Spanish  cruisers  in  search  of  them 
fired  upon  vessels  in  lawful  trade.  Then  there  was  the  usual 
diplomatic  correspondence ;  the  American  government  protested ; 
the  Spanish  officials  apologized  and  promised  —  and  neither  one 
took  any  steps  that  would  help  matters. 

The  Policy  of  the  United  States.  —  Up  to  1895  the  policy  of  the 
United  States  with  reference  to  Cuba  had  been  conciliatory. 
There  were  abundant  excuses  and  many  opportunities  for  taking 
action  which  would  have  ended  in  the  acquisition  of  Cuba,  but 
the  American  government  has  always  refused  to  take  advantage 
of  them.  In  spite  of  individual  opinions  of  eminent  statesmen, 
popular  opinion  in  regard  to  Cuba  has  always  been  "  hands  off." 

In  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  condi 
tions  were  taking  shape  that  made  intervention  a  necessity,  and 
with  these  the  American  nation  had  nothing  to  do0 

1  As  a  rule  these  men  bore  such  names  as  Manuel  Gonzales  or  Don  Perez  de 
Alvarado  y  Gomez. 

2  Technically  she  was  surrendered ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  she  was  scuttled  and 
sunk  before  the  authorities  had  official  possession  of  her. 


398  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Sugar  Production  in  Cuba.  —  For  many  years  Cuba  had  been  one 
of  the  leading  sugar-producing  regions  of  the  world,  and  the 
American  people  were  her  chief  customers.  Within  the  last 
thirty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  world's  consumption  of 
sugar  increased  so  enormously  that  the  supply  of  cane  sugar  was 
nowhere  equal  to  the  demand.  In  order  to  meet  this  demand,  the 
cultivation  of  the  sugar  beet  in  Europe  was  encouraged.1  Inas 
much  as  raw  cane  sugar  could  be  obtained  from  the  tropical  islands 
more  cheaply  than  beet  sugar  could  be  produced  in  Europe,  the 
various  European  states  protected  the  growers  of  beet  sugar  by 
paying  a  bonus  on  all  sugar  exported. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  bonus  on  export  sugar  was  to 
lower  the  wholesale  price  of  sugar  in  Cuba  to  a  point  where  the 
Cuban  sugar  growers  saw  nothing  but  financial  ruin  ahead  of 
them.  The  only  relief  to  the  unfortunate  condition  would  have 
been  a  material  lowering  of  the  taxes  imposed  by  the  Spanish 
government.  This,  however,  was  a  concession  which  the  latter 
declined  to  make. 

The  Cubans  declare  their  Independence.  1895.  —  As  a  result,  the 
Cubans  for  a  sixth  time  in  half  a  century  rebelled.  On  this 
occasion  they  declared  themselves  independent,  and  organized  a 
republic  (1895). 

Americans  had  invested  in  the  island  more  than  $50,000,000, 
while  the  annual  volume  of  their  trade  was  about  double  that 
sum.  The  Americans  quickly  realized  that  their  prop- 
desire  erty  was  the  lawful  prey  of  both  Spain  and  the  rebel- 
Cuban  inde-  Hous  Cubans.  They  were  indignant  that  they  had  no 
rights  of  property  to  be  respected ;  the  Spanish  govern 
ment  was  equally  irritated  that  the  real  insurrectionary  head 
quarters  of  the  Cubans  was  in  New  York  City,  and  that  hostile 
expeditions  were  fitted  out  at  American  ports  almost  weekly,  in 
spite  of  efforts  to  prevent  them.  The  President  and  the  Congress 
were  urged  by  the  people  to  recognize  the  independence  of  Cuba, 
and  to  grant  the  rights  of  belligerents  to  the  insurrectionary 
government.  A  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 

1  At  the  close  of  the  century  less  than  half  of  the  total  sugar  product  came 
from  the  sugar  cane  ;  the  production  of  beet  sugar  has  been  steadily  increasing. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN   WAR 


399 


grew  to  be  in  favor  of  such  a  measure,  but  the  government  wisely 
refrained. 

The  Reconcentration  Camps.  —  During  the  three  years  following 
the  declaration  of  Cuban  independence,  Spain  sent  two  hundred 
thousand  troops  to  quell  the  revolt.  General  Weyler  was  made 
military  governor  of  Cuba,  and  he  began  a  policy  that  for  atrocity 
has  no  equal  in  modern  history.1  NoncomtJatant  Cubans  were 
forced  into  camps  of  "  reconcentration,"  where  they  were  systemati- 


THE  MAINE. 

cally  starved  to  death  ;  those  who  refused  to  go  into  these  camps 
were  butchered  —  men,  women,  and  children.  The  horrors  of  the 
situation  shocked  the  civilized  world.  It  was  a  question  of  time 
only  until  the  American  government  should  intervene. 

The  Destruction  of  the  Battleship  Maine.  1898.  —  The  opportunity 
for  intervention  occurred  sooner  than  was  expected.  The  United 
States  battleship  Maine,  under  Captain  Sigsbee,  while  at  anchor 

1  Weyler  was  recalled  by  the  Spanish  government,  practically  because  his 
methods  had  become  so  offensive  to  the  American  government.  His  successor, 
General  Blanco,  was  a  humane  man  as  well  as  a  skillful  soldier. 


400 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


ADMIRAL  DEWEY. 


at  a  place  assigned  to  her  by  the  authorities  of  Havana  Harbor,  was 
blown  to  pieces  (February  15,  1898)  by  a  torpedo  or  other  explo 
sive.  Two  hundred  and  sixty 
of  the  Maine's  men  were  killed, 
and  the  battleship  herself  was 
torn  to  pieces.  In  the  official 
inquiry  there  was  no  evidence 
to  suggest  that  the  Spanish 
government  or  any  official  was 
concerned  in  the  matter ;  in 
deed,  the  Spanish  officials 
offered  every  kindly  service 
within  their  power  to  Captain 
Sigsbee  and  the  survivors. 

War  Declared.  1898.  —  The 
destruction  of  the  vessel  cer 
tainly  hastened  what  was  in 
evitable.  The  Congress  of  the 
United  States  (April  19, 1898)  adopted  a  resolution  demanding  of 
Spain  that  she  withdraw  at  once  from  the  West  Indies ;  and  at 
the  same  time  the  independence  of  Cuba  was  recognized.  Presi 
dent  McKinley  was  authorized  to  carry  out  the  resolution  with 
the  army  and  navy,  and  $50,000,000  was  supplied  to  the  President 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  army  and  the  navy  ready  for  war. 
Two  days  later  the  Spanish  government  gave  the  American 
minister  his  passport,  and  war  between  the  two  countries  was  on.1 

1  At  the  opening  of  the  negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  Spain 
concerning  Cuba,  President  McKinley  expressed  the  belief  that  with  time  and 
authority  from  the  Congress,  he  could  bring  about  a  peaceful  and  satisfactory 
settlement  of  the  Cuban  difficulty.  Stewart  L.  Woodford,  minister  to  Spain, 
entered  heartily  into  the  President's  purpose.  On  April  9,  he  telegraphed  to 
President  McKinley  from  Madrid  that  the  Spanish  government  had  agreed  to  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  preparatory  to  a  peaceful  settlement.  On  April  10,  Wood- 
ford  telegraphed:  "I  believe  you  will  get  final  settlement  ...  on  one  of  the 
following  bases :  Either  such  autonomy  as  the  insurgents  may  agree  to  accept,  or 
recognition  by  Spain  of  the  independence  of  the  island,  or  cession  of  the  island  to 
the  United  States.  I  hope  that  nothing  will  now  be  done  to  humiliate  Spain,  as  I 
am  satisfied  that  the  present  government  is  going,  and  is  loyally  ready  to  go,  as 
fast  and  as  far  as  it  can."  In  the  President's  message  to  the  Congress  on  the 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN    WAR  401 

There  were  two  fields  of  operation  —  the  Spanish  possessions  in 
the  West  Indies  and  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  latter,  like 
Cuba,  had  been  in  revolt  for  several  years. 

The  Battle  of  Manila  Bay.     May  1,  1898.  —  The  first  hostilities 
of  importance    occurred  in   the   Philippines,  in   the   harbor   of 
Manila.     Immediately  after   the  declaration   of   war 
Commodore    George   Dewey  assembled  at  Mirs  Bay,      acquire 
near  Hongkong,  the  war  vessels  on  duty  in   Pacific      Philippine 
waters.    Proceeding  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  his  fleet 
entered  Manila  Bay  (May  1,  1898).     Within  a  few  hours  Dewey 
had  sunk  or  destroyed  the  Spanish  fleet  of  ten  vessels,  and  captured 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  SANTIAGO  AND  VICINITY. 

the  fortifications  of  the  harbor,  including  the  arsenal  at  Cavite. 
None  were  even  wounded  on  the  American  side.  The  city  and 
harbor  were  blockaded  until  the  arrival  of  General  Merritt  with 
twenty  thousand  troops.  A  few  weeks  later  (August  13)  the  city 
and  the  islands  were  surrendered  with  very  slight  resistance. 

The  Plan  of  Campaign  in  the  West  Indies.  —  The  campaign  in 
the  West  Indies  was  a  more  difficult  affair.  A  part  of  the  Ameri 
can  fleet  under  Acting  Rear- Admiral  William  Sampson  was  sent 
to  blockade  Havana ;  another  part,  under  Commodore  Winfield 

llth,  he  said,  after  referring  to  Spain's  order  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  "  If 
this  measure  attains  a  successful  result,  then  our  aspirations  as  a  Christian, 
peace-loving  people  will  be  realized."  In  the  face  of  these  facts  the  Congress 
declared  war.  ("Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States,"  1898,  Pub.  Doc.) 


402 


THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Scott  Schley,  was  organized  into  a  "  flying  squadron,"  to  search 
for  the  Spanish  fleet  under  Admiral  Cervera,  which  had  sailed 

from  a  Spanish  port  for  the  West 
Indies.  After  a  considerable  skill 
ful  sea-maneuvering,  Admiral  Cer 
vera,  in  need  of  coal  and  other 
supplies,  took  refuge  in  the  harbor 
and  port  of  Santiago.  The  strongly 
fortified  harbor,  k'nown  as  a  clover- 
leaf  bay,  opens  into  the  ocean 
through  a  narrow,  tortuous  channel. 
It  was  manifestly  unwise  for  an 
attacking  fleet  to  enter  the  harbor 
well-laid  with  mines ;  so  all  the 
available  vessels  of  the  fleet  were 
disposed  about  the  entrance  to 
blockade  it.1 

The   Capture   of   Santiago.  —  The 
presence   of   the   Spanish    fleet   in 
the  harbor  of  Santiago  made  it  the  chief  strategic  point,  and  the 
necessity  for  capturing  the  city  and  harbor  was  at  once 
orations      apparent.     An  army  of  eighteen  thousand  men  was  at 
once  dispatched  to  the  seat  of  war  under  the  command 
of  General  William  R.  Shafter.    The  arjny  was  landed  at  a  point  a 
few  miles  distant  from  Santiago,  and  the  campaign  was  at  once 
begun.      The  outer  line  of  defenses  at  El  Caney  and  San  Juan 
was  taken  by  assault  (July  1,  1898),  and  held  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  to  recapture  them.2     The  fighting  was  most  severe,  but  the 


ADMIRAL,  SCHLBY. 


1  It  was  during  this  blockade  that  a  young  naval  officer,  Richmond  Pierson 
Hobson  of  Alabama,  fitted  the  collier  Merrimac  for  the  purpose,  and,  with  a  crew 
of  seven  men,  brought  her  under  her  own  steam  to  a  narrow  part  of  the  channel, 
and  torpedoed  and  sunk  her  with  the  design  of  blocking  it.     Hobson  and  his  crew 
threw  themselves  into  the  water,  but  were  captured.    They  were  kindly  treated 
by  Admiral  Cervera  and  were  shortly  afterward  exchanged.    The  sunken  vessel 
did  not  block  the  channel,  however. 

2  The  charge  of  the  "  Rough  Riders,"  a  regiment  composed  of  Western  frontiers 
men,  was  a  noteworthy  event.    Theodore  Roosevelt,  former  assistant  secretary 
of  the  navy,  was  in  command  of  the  regiment  at  the  time  and  led  the  charge 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN    WAR 


403 


Spanish  troops  were  driven  into  the  city,  which  was  practically 
at  the  mercy  of  the  American  army. 

When  this  condition  was  apparent,  Acting  Rear-Admiral  Samp 
son  went  to  hold  a  conference  with  General  Shafter,  regarding 
a  concerted  assault  upon  the  city  by  both  land  and 
naval  forces.     While  he  was  absent,  the  lookout   of  tion  of  the^ 
Commodore  Schley's  flagship,  the  Brooklyn,  observed  Spanish 
that  the  Spanish  fleet  was  in  motion,  and  it  became 
quickly  apparent  that  Admiral  Cervera,  as  a  forlorn  hope,  was 
attempting   to  run  the  blockade.     In  a  very  few  moments  the 
fight  was  begun,  and  in  about  two 
hours  it  was  over.    When  the  firing 
had   ceased,  all  the  Spanish  ships 
were  battered  wrecks  ;  the  American 
vessels  were  uninjured.     The  plans 
so  carefully  laid  by  Acting   Rear- 
Admiral  Sampson,  and  carried  out 
so  splendidly  by  Commodore  Schley, 
on  that  fateful  day  (July  3),  were 
the  undoing  of  the  Spanish  nation 
so  far  as  her  American  possessions 
were  concerned.     Admiral  Cervera 
and   about    eighteen    hundred  men 
were  made  prisoners  of  war. 

The  presence  of  General  Shafter's 
army  before  the  city  of  Santiago, 
and  the  loss  of  Cervera's  vessels 
convinced  the  Spanish  authorities  that  further  resistance  was 
useless.  A  few  days  later  (July  14)  the  Spanish  com-  The  surren- 
mander  of  the  forces  in  Santiago,  General  Toral,  der  of  San- 
surrendered.  The  capitulation  of  the  city  carried  with  tiago 
it  the  control  of  the  eastern  part  of  Cuba.  About  the  same  time 
General  Nelson  Miles,  then  commanding  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  began  the  military  investment  of  Porto  Rico,  in  which 
he  encountered  but  little  actual  resistance. 


ADMIRAL  SAMPSON. 


up  the  hill.    His  bravery  that  day  made  him  the  idol  of  the  "cowboy  contingent " 
of  the  West. 


404 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Spain   sues  for  Peace.     1898.  —  A  few  weeks  after  the  fall   of 
Santiago,   the   Spanish    government    made   overtures   for   peace 


GENERAL  SHAFTEB. 


GENERAL  MILES. 


through  the  French  ambassador  at  Washington.  A  protocol,  or 
preliminary  agreement,  was  drawn  up  (August  12)  by  the  secre 
tary  of  state  and  the  French  ambassador  who  acted  for  the 
Spanish  government,  and  hostilities  were  suspended.1 

The  formal  treaty  was  signed  in  Paris  a  few  months  later 
(December  10)  and  ratified  by  both  nations.  By  its  terms  Spain 
gave  up  all  rights  to  Cuba.  Porto  Rico  and  the  Phil- 
^PP"16  Islands  were  regarded  as  the  rightful  conquest 
of  war ;  but  the  United  States  agreed  to  pay  Spain  the 
sum  of  $20,000,000,  a  sum  equal  to  the  amount  that  Spain  had 
expended  in  the  way  of  public  improvements  in  the  islands. 
Spain  also  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  island  of  Guam,  one  of 
the  Ladrone  group  in  the  Pacific,  which  was  needed  as  a  naval 
and  coaling  station. 

Territorial  Expansion;  the  Reconstruction  of  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  Alaska  was  practically  the 
only  territorial  possession  of  the  United  States  that  was  not  a 
part  of  the  main  body  of  the  country.  At  the  close  of  the  war, 
the  twentieth  parallel  of  latitude  passed  through  or  near  two  large 

1  The  orders  for  the  cessation  of  hostilities  did  not  reach  Admiral  Dewey  for 
several  days,  and  the  attack  on  Manila  by  the  fleet  and  General  Merritt's  forces 
occurred  August  13,  a  few  hours  after  the  signing  of  the  protocol. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN    WAR 


405 


groups  and  several  important  islands  that  were  possessions  of  the 
United  States  or  held  by  this  country  under  protection. 

The  island  of  Cuba  was  held  for  about  three  years  under  mili 
tary  control.     It  was  a  mortifying  fact  that  the  scandalous  con 
duct  of  some  of  the  officials  in  high  positions  led  to  Thereor  ani 
unpleasant  criticism  from  abroad.    Nevertheless,  under  zation  of 
the  direction  of  the  United  States  authorities  the  gov-  Cuba 
eminent  of  the  island   was  organized  and  put  on  a  good  finan- 


A  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  IN  PORTO  Rico. 

cial  basis.  Not  the  least  important  feature  was  the  organization 
and  equipment  of  a  most  excellent  department  of  public  instruc 
tion  under  a  distinguished  educator,  Alexis  E.  Frye.  When  the 
Cuban  government  had  been  put  in  running  order,  the  United 
States  gave  back  the  island  to  the  Cubans,  and  the  Cuban  republic 
was  launched.  The  United  States  authorities  reserved  the  right 
to  disapprove  any  foreign  policy  that  might  menace  the  peace 
of  either  Cuba  or  the  United  States. 


406  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Porto  Eico  was  one  of  the  spoils  of  war.  A  stable  government 
was  organized  and  put  into  operation  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
The  govern-  establishment  of  public  schools  and  the  construction 
ment  of  of  good  roads  and  other  much-needed  public  improve 
ments  were  quickly  begun.  Since  the  acquisition  of  the 
island,  the  people  have  proved  themselves  loyal,  and  the  officers 
elected  by  them  have  shown  themselves  upright  and  capable. 


THE  HARBOR  OF  HONOLULU. 

The  Annexation  of  Hawaii.  1898.  —  The  Hawaiian  Islands1 
occupy  a  most  important  midocean  position  in  the  Pacific. 
Because  of  their  geographic  position,  their  capital, 
Honolulu,  has  been  an  ocean  post  office,  supply  station, 
and  general  exchange  station  for  half  a  century. 
About  1865  it  was  found  that  the  volcanic  lavas  of  the  islands 
quickly  decomposed  and  formed  excellent  soil  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  sugar  cane.  Sugar  growing  became  the  chief  industry  of 
the  islands,  and  San  Francisco  was  the  chief  market  for  the  sugar. 
As  far  back  as  1870  the  islands  were  commercially  in  close  rela 
tions  with  the  United  States. 

In  1851  a  French  naval  force  threatened  to  take  possession  of 
the  islands,  and  King  Kamehameha  III,  then  the  sovereign,  in 

1  The  islands  consist  of  a  partly  submerged  range,  whose  surface  is  composed 
of  volcanic  rock.  Eight  of  the  islands  are  inhabited,  but  five  of  them  contain 
practically  all  of  the  population.  Nearly  25,000  of  the  people  are  Americans  and 
Europeans,  75,000  are  native  Hawaiians,  and  40,000  are  Chinese  and  Japanese. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN   WAR  407 

order  to  forestall  the  possibility  of  becoming  a  subject  of  France, 
executed   a   deed   delivering   the   islands  to  the  United  States. 
The  deed  was  placed  in  the  possession  of  the  United       Relations 
States  commissioner,  to  become  effective  in  the  case       with  the 
that  hostile  action  should  be  taken  against  the  king-       United 
dom  by  a  European  power.     After  that  time  American 
influence  was  regarded  as  paramount,  and  practically,  though  not 
nominally,  the  kingdom  was  under  the  protection  of  the  United 
States. 

In  1892  Queen  Liliuokalani  endeavored  to  overthrow  the  con 
stitutional   government.      A   revolution   resulted.      The   United 


THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS,  A  STATION  ON  COMMERCIAL  ROUTES. 

States  warship  Boston  was  at  Honolulu  at  the  time,  and  her  sail 
ors  were  sent  ashore  to  preserve  order.  During  the  revolution  the 
American  flag  was  hoisted  over  the  government  building  by  order 
of  the  Boston7 s  commander.  President  Cleveland  believed  that 
this  officer  had  exceeded  his  orders,  and  disapproved  the  proceed 
ings.  The  queen  was  deposed,  however,  and  a  provisional  repub 
lic  was  formed  (July  4,  1894). 

At  the  time  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  the  value  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  to  the  United  States  for  strategic  purposes 


408 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMEEICAN  NATION 


Annexation 


became  so  apparent  that  the  question  of  annexation  was  again 
opened,  with  the  result  that  the  formalities  were  quickly  com 
pleted  (July  6,  1898).  President  McKinley  imme 
diately  reappointed  the  officers  then  in  office,  and  the 
laws  of  the  provisional  republic  were  ordered  enforced  until  they 
might  be  changed  by  the  Congress.  The  Territory  of  Hawaii  was 
created  April  30,  1900. 

The  Problem  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  —  The  management  and 
organization  of  affairs  in  the  Philippine  Islands  proved  a  most 


A  MARKET  SCENE  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


difficult  task.      Before  the  American  occupation  of  the  islands, 

a  revolutionary  government  had  been  established  by 

the  natives,  but  it  actually  amounted  to  little.     Just 

after  the  American  occupation,  the  native  organization,  under  the 

leadership  of  Aguinaldo,  took  up  arms  against  the  Americans  and 

several  years  of  bush  fighting  followed  in  consequence.     A  great 

many  natives  were  killed,  and  not  until  nearly  every  part  of  the 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN    WAR 


409 


island  of  Luzon  had  been  occupied  by  American  troops,  was  the 
revolt  quelled.  Aguinaklo  was  finally  captured  by  General  Fun- 
ston,  and  hostilities  ceased  soon  afterward.  Since  that  time  the 
native  peoples  have  loyally  supported  the  government. 

There  were  many  people  in  the  United  States  who  were  opposed 
to  the  occupation  of  the  islands,  believing  that  they  should  have 
been  left  to  the  native 


Theques-  peoples  and 
tion  of  self-  that  the 
government 


fully  capable  of  self- 

government.    The  ma 

jority    of    Americans, 

however,  held  that  such 

an  act  would  have  been 

cowardly,  inasmuch  as 

the    condition   of   an 

archy  into  which  the 

islands  were    drifting 

would  have  resulted  in 

civil  war,  loss  of  life, 

and  dangerous  foreign 

complications.      They 

believed  that,   having 

taken   the   islands,    it 

was  the  sacred  duty  of 

the   American    people 

to   establish   a   stable 

government  there,  and 

to    teach    the    people 

the  art  and  science  of 

self-government.     This  was  the  opinion  of  President  McKinley 

and  President  Roosevelt. 

Under  Governor  (afterwards  Secretary  of  War)  William  H.  Taf  t 
this  policy  was  carried  out,  and  in  many  districts  the  government 
is  now  administered  by  native  officials.  A  system  of  public 
schools  was  established  soon  after  the  American  occupation. 


THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS. 


410  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

That  many  unwise  and  some  ludicrous  things  were  done  in  the 
first  attempts  to  organize"  a  government  in  the  islands  is  certainly 
true;  nevertheless,  the  final  results  are  deserving  of  praise  and 
commendation. 

Some  Lessons  taught  by  the  War.  —  The  direct  cost  of  the  war 
to  the  United  States  was  not  far  from  $150,000,000  ; l  the  indirect 
cost  was  much  greater,  for  it  involved  the  necessity  of 
increasing  the  regular  army  and  the  building  of  a 
much  stronger  navy.  The  navy  had  been  adequate  for  the  war  in 
which  it  took  part,  but  thoughtful  people  saw  plainly  that  it  must 
be  made  equal  in  effectiveness  to  the  navy  of  any  other  nation  in 
the  world.  They  realized  that  moral  rights  are  respected  by  for 
eign  nations  only  when  there  are  battleships  in  the  background, 
and  that  "  battleships  are  cheaper  than  war."  The  policy  of  a 
strong  navy  now  meets  opposition  only  on  moral  grounds ;  in 
the  light  of  civilization  it  can  be  regarded  only  as  a  temporary 
necessity. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  coast  defenses  of  the  country 
were  ridiculous.     There  was  not  a  single  modern  gun  or  a  forti 
fication  that  for  a  moment  would  resist  projectiles 
defenses         fired  from  the  guns  of  a  warship  eight  miles  distant. 
Moreover,  it  was  learned  that  more  than  one  European 
nation  had  the  ..exact  information  that  would  enable  their  war 
ships  to  drop  shells  into  the  arsenals,  arms  factories,  and  maga 
zines  near  the  coast.     The  construction  of  first-class  coast  defenses 
was  immediately  taken  in  hand,  and  the  work  upon  them  has 
steadily  progressed. 

Before  the,  war  it  was  generally  believed  by  military  and  naval 
authorities  in  Europe  that  the  American  army  and  navy  could 
not  hold  out  against  a  second-rate  power;  indeed,  they  were  a 
laughing-stock  to  most  Europeans.  The  sea  fight  at  Santiago 
was  a  breath-taking  shock,  for  it  had  been  predicted  in  every 

1  This  expense  was  met  by  an  internal  tax  on  various  articles  of  use,  by  a  tax 
on  bank  checks  and  various  legal  documents,  and  by  borrowing  money  from  the 
people.  The  United  States  Treasury  was  empowered  to  issue  three  per  cent  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  $400,000,000,  and  to  borrow  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,000  on 
certificates  of  indebtedness. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN   WAR 


J11 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  WHEELER. 


European  capital  that  with  evenly 

matched    forces    the    Spanish    fleet 

would  easily  win.1 

By  far  the  greatest  result  of  the 

war,    however,    was    the    patriotic 

feeling    developed    throughout    the 

nation.     Young  men  in  every  walk 

of  life  rushed  to  the  recruiting  office. 
Rich  and  poor,  highborn 

count  6          anc^  lowborn,  for  the  mo 
ment    forgot    everything 

but  their  country's  call.2    Prominent 

among  the  men  who  volunteered  were  General  Joseph  Wheeler 

and  General  Fitzhugli  Lee,  distinguished  Confederate  soldiers.    It 

was  quickly  manifest  that  the 
chase  for  wealth  and  social  posi 
tion  had  not  seriously  warped  the 
character  of  the  younger  element 
of  American  citizenship.  For  the 
first  time  in  nearly  a  century  all 
parts  of  the  country  were  united 
and  sectional  feeling  was  probably 
forever  buried.  It  is  sad  that,  in 
the  history  of  any  nation,  such  a 
lesson  should  ever  have  been 
needed  ;  it  is  equally  gratifying 
that  America,  young  and  old, 

was  ready  to  receive  and  to  abide  by  it.  * 


GENERAL  FITZHUGH  LEE. 


1  The  splendid  gunnery  of  the  navy  was  due  in  no  small  degree  to  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  former  assistant  secretary  of  the  navy.     While  connected  with  that 
branch  of  the  service,  Mr.  Roosevelt  insisted  on  the  most  thorough  drills  in  target 
practice.     As  a  result  but  few  shots  in  battle  wei-e  wasted.     No  other  gunners  in 
the  world  could  show  such  wonderfully  accurate  firing. 

2  On  one  of  the  vessels  that  had  been  converted  into  a  very  good  armed  cruiser, 
a  young  sailor,  serving  as  steersman,  was  complimented  for  his  skill  in  handling 
the  vessel.    The  young  man  was  the  former  owner  of  the  cruiser.    He  had  pre 
sented  the  vessel  to  the  government,  had  enlisted  in  the  navy,  and  was  serving  as 
an  able  seaman  on  what  had  been  his  property. 


412  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


SUMMARY 

At  various  times  there  had  been  friction  between  American  merchants 
and  Spanish  officers  in  Cuba,  owing  to  the  evasion  of  neutrality  laws  or 
to  trade  regulations. 

Up  to  1895  the  policy  of  the  United  States  government  had  been 
conciliatory. 

In  1895  the  Cubans  rebelled  against  Spain  and  declared  themselves 
independent.  In  three  years'  time  two  hundred  thousand  Spanish  troops 
failed  to  restore  order.  The  cruel  treatment  of  the  Cubans  aroused 
general  indignation. 

Several  million  dollars'  worth  of  American  property  was  either  de 
stroyed  or  impaired  in  value. 

In  1898  the  United  States  battleship  Maine  was  blown  up  in  Havana 
Harbor.  Shortly  afterwards  the  United  States  demanded  that  Spain 
evacuate  her  possessions  in  the  West  Indies. 

War  being  declared,  a  force  of  troops  was  sent  to  invest  Santiago, 
where  a  Spanish  fleet  had  taken  refuge.  In  an  attempt  to  escape  the 
fleet  was  destroyed.  Santiago  was  then  surrendered. 

Porto  Rico  was  captured  without  opposition. 

A  fleet  entered  Manila  Bay,  Philippine  Islands,  and  sunk  the  Span 
ish  war  vessels  there.  The  Spanish  force  in  the  islands  capitulated  a  few 
days  afterward. 

A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  in  Paris  in  December,  1898. 

The  territory  of  the  United  States  was  enlarged  by  (1)  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  annexed  by  treaty ;  (2)  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippine  Islands, 
conquests  of  war;  (3)  the  island  of  Guam,  purchased  from  Spain.  Cuba 
became  an  independent  republic. 

COLLATERAL   READING 

» 
Advanced  Civics  —  Forman.     Chapter  XXV. 


THE  WORLD 

Showing 

UNITED  STATES 

AND  ITS  DEPENDENCIES. 

United  States  Dependencies  thus:  PORTO  RICO 


ANUA  I. (To  U.S.I. 


NOTE The  total  distance  from  San  Francisco 

to  Manila,  via  Hawaii  and  Guam,  is  8100 
Statute  Miles. 

orto  -Rico  to  the  Philippines,  Is  180, 
or  half  around  th«  Globe. 
The  total  distance  from  San  Jusn,  Puert&Ri 
to  Manil»,via  New  York  &  San  Francisco,! 
13,000  miles. 


60s  4<K-  20°  0° 


40°  60° 


CHAPTER   XXII 
RECENT  EVENTS 

The  New  Epoch.  —  With  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century 
the  Unijbed  States  began  a  new  epoch  in  its  history.  The  most 
important  geographical  positions  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  are  con 
trolled  by  it.  Its  territory  is  in  a  direct  line  between  the  centers 
of  commerce  and  population  of  Europe  and  Asia.  The  line  of 
intercommunication  across  the  continent  lies  up  the  Hudson, 
through  the  Mohawk  Valley,  along  the  Great  Lakes,  and  thence 
to  the  ports  of  Puget  Sound.  Before  many  years  this  will  be 
one  of  the  greatest  trade  routes  of  the  world. 

McKinley  reflected.  1900.  —  In  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1900,  the  great  parties  nominated  the  same  candidates  that  had 
been  pitted  against  each  other  four  years  before  —  William  McKin 
ley  and  William  J.  Bryan.  The  platforms  of  the  two  were  also 
essentially  the  same  as  before  on  the  money  question.  The  Demo 
crats  declared  again  for  free  coinage  of  silver,  denounced  the 
corrupting  influence  of  trusts,  and  advocated  giving  independence 
to  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  Kepublicans  again  stood  for  the 
gold  standard  and  declared  that  all  forms  of  money  should  be 
redeemable  in  gold;  they  favored  retaining  possession  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.  McKinley  was  reflected  by  a  large  majority, 
and  Theodore  Roosevelt l  of  New  York  was  elected  Vice-President. 

i  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  was  born  in  New  York  in  1858.  He  was  graduated 
from  Harvard  University.  He  entered  politics  as  a  vigorous  advocate  of  civil 
service  principles.  In  1889  President  Harrison  appointed  him  United  States  civil 
service  commissioner.  Later  he  was  appointed  New  York  police  commissioner. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain  he  resigned  his  post  as  assistant  secre 
tary  of  the  navy  to  enter  the  army.  Together  with  Colonel  Leonard  Wood,  he 
led  a  force  of  volunteer  cavalry  in  Cuba.  His  regiment,  composed  mainly  of 
Western  cowboys  and  college  men,  was  known  as  Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders.  In 
1899  he  was  chosen  governor  of  New  York  State.  In  1900  he  was  elected  Vice- 

413 


414 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


The  Philippine  Policy.  —  President  McKinley  very  quickly  made 
it  known  that  he  intended  to  establish  a  stable  government  in  the 
Philippine  Islands.  Little  by  little,  as  peace  was  established 
in  the  provinces,  civil  government  was  substituted  for  military 
rule.  Under  the  wise  administration  of  Governor  William  H. 
Taft,  peace  came  to  the  islands  so  long  rent  by  war  and 
revolution. 

The  Murder  of  McKinley.  1901.  —  Of  seven  men  elected  to  the 
presidency  since  1864,  three  have  died  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin. 

In  September,  1901,  while 
President  McKinley  was  hold 
ing  a  public  reception  within 
the  grounds  of  the  Pan- 
American  Exposition  at  Buf 
falo,  he  was  shot  clown  by  an 
anarchist  who  approached  him 
as  if  to  shake  hands.  As  he 
sank  to  the  ground  he  said, 
"  It  is  God's  will."  The  Pres 
ident  lingered  for  several 
days,  and  then  his  life  went 
out.  To  his  great  statesman 
ship  there  was  added  a  most 
beautiful  character. 

Vice-President  Eoosevelt 
immediately  took  Roosevelt 
the  oath  of  office,  becomes 
and  his  adminis-  President 
tration  was  continued  under 
practically  the  same  cabinet,  following  the  policy  of  McKinley. 
The  Department  of  Commerce.  —  A  new  executive  department,  the 
need  of  which  had  long  been  felt,  was  established  by  the  Congress 
in  1903  —  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  The  secre 
tary  of  the  new  department  became  a  member  of  the  President's 

President,  and  on  the  death  of  President  McKinley,  in  September,  1901,  he  suc 
ceeded  to  the  presidency.  He  was  nominated  for  a  second  term,  and  in  1004  was 
elected  the  twenty-sixth  President. 


Copyright,  1!K)2,  by  Roekwood,  N.Y. 

PRESIDENT  KOOSEVELT. 


RECENT  EVENTS  415 

cabinet.  The  various  existing  bureaus  that  pertained  to  com 
merce  and  labor  were  placed  in  the  control  of  the  department,  and 
the  Bureau  of  Corporations  was  created.  To  the  latter  bureau 
was  given  the  power  to  investigate  the  workings  of  great  cor 
porations  doing  an  interstate  business,  the  railways  excepted. 

The  Reclamation  of  Arid  Lands.  —  About  twenty  years  before 
the  close  of  the  century,  the  government  had  undertaken  the 
reclamation  of  certain  arid  lands  in  the  Western  highlands. 
There  are  about  one  hundred  million  acres  of  waste  lands  that 
can  be  reclaimed  and  made  productive  by  storing  and  distributing 
the  waters  of  stream  and  storm.  In  years  past  the  building  of 
reservoirs  and  ditches  depended  upon  the  uncertain  action  of  the 
Congress,  and  the 
work,  though  well 
planned,  was  not 
well  carried  out.  In 

1902  the  Congress  ordered  that  the  money  received  from  the 
sales  of  public  lands  in  the  arid  section  should  be  set  apart 
for  use  in  reclaiming  such  lands  as  might  be  made  suitable  for 
cultivation.  * 

The  Panama  Canal.  —  The  necessity  of  a  canal  to  connect  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  has  been  recognized  for  upwards  of 
four  hundred  years,  having  been  advocated  in  Spain  just  after 
the  discovery  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  has  been  made  the  sub 
ject  of  two  treaties  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.1 
Surveys  were  made  for  a  canal  to  cross  the  Central  American 
state  Nicaragua,  and  work  upon  a  canal  at  that  point  was  about 
to  be  undertaken  by  the  United  States  government. 

In  1902  the  French  owners  of  a  franchise  for  a  canal  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  in  the  republic  of  Colombia,  offered  to 
sell  the  franchise  to  the  United  States,  and  the  offer  was  taken. 
The  Colombian  government,  however,  refused  to  make  a  treaty 
with  the  United  States.  The  state  of  Panama  then  seceded 
from  Colombia  and  became  independent.  A  treaty  between 
Panama  and  the  United  States  was  concluded  (1904)  in  which 
the  right  of  way  and  a  bordering  strip  ten  miles  wide  was  ceded 
1  See  p.  281.  The  second  treaty  (Hay-Pauncefote)  was  made  in  December,  1901. 


416  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

to  the  United  States.     To  the  United  States  was  given  also  the 
sanitary  regulation  of  Colon  and  Panama. 

Roosevelt  elected  President.  1904.  —  The  years  of  Roosevelt's 
first  administration  were  a  period  of  great  prosperity  and  there 
was  general  satisfaction  with  his  straightforward  policy.  In  the 
three  years  that  he  had  been  President,  he  had  proved  a  most 
capable  chief  executive.  In  the  election  of  1904  it  was  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  the  Republicans  would  nominate  him  to  succeed 
himself.  Charles  W.  Fairbanks  of  Indiana  was  the  candidate  for 
Vice-President.  The  Democrats  nominated  Alton  B.  Parker  of 
New  York  and  Henry  G-.  Davis  of  West  Virginia.  The  Repub 
lican  ticket  swept  the  country. 

The  American  Nation  among  the  World  Powers.  —  The  close  of 
the  Spanish- American  war  marked  the  increased  importance  of 
the  American  nation  in  world  politics.  This  step  came  about, 
not  from  military  or  naval  feats,  but  because  of  the  fact  that 
American  possessions  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  a  certain  extent 
involved  the  nation  in  the  events  that  concerned  China,  Japan, 
and  Russia. 

Just  after  the  war  with  Spain,  Czaf  Nicholas  of  Russia  suggested 
(February,  1899)  through  his  ministers  the  excellent  proposi- 
Intemational  ^on  of  submitting  international  disputes  to  a  peace 
Peace  tribunal.  The  proposition  was  favorably  received, 

Conference  and  tke  international  Peace  Conference  met  at  the 
Hague,  in  Holland,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  the 
Czar,  May  18.  Twenty-one  nations  were  represented,  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  being  the  only  American  nations.1  The  results 
achieved  were  twofold.  Practically  all  that  could  be  done  to  re 
lieve  war  of  unnecessary  cruelties  was  agreed  upon  by  the  states 
represented.  A  permanent  International  Court  of  Arbitration, 
commonly  known  as  the  Hague  Tribunal,  was  established  also. 
To  this  court  international  disputes  may  be  brought. 

1  The  American  members  of  the  Peace  Conference  were  Ambassador  Andrew 
White,  Seth  Low  (then  President  of  Columbia  University),  Ambassador  Stan 
ford  Newell,  Captain  Alfred  T.  Mahan,  U.S.N.,  Captain  William  Crozier,  U.S.N. 
(inventor  of  the  disappearing  gun  carriage),  and  Frederick  W.  Holls,  a  noted 
jurist. 


EECENT  EVENTS 


417 


It  was  an  odd  circumstance  that  war  came  almost  immediately 
to  harass  the  Czar.     During  the  Boxer  troubles  in  China,1  Russian 
troops   were   stationed  in   Manchuria,  a   province  of  The  Russian- 
China,  for  the  protection  of  the  Chinese  Eastern  Rail-  Japanese 
way.     At  the  close  of  the  uprising  in  China  the  Rus-      ar 
sians  refused  to  withdraw  the  troops.     The  Japanese  considered 
this  a  menace  both  to  their  commerce  and  to  the  safety  of  their 
empire.      War   was   declared    against   Russia    (February,  1904), 
and   this  war  proved  to  be  the  most  bloody  and  destructive  of 
modern  times. 

The  war  was   likely  to  involve   other  nations,  and  cool  and 
wise   counsel  was  necessary.     One   of  the  responsible  men  of 

the  hour  was  Secretary  of  State _ 

John  Hay.  To  Mr.  Hay,  quite 
as  much  as  to  any  other  diplo 
mat,  belongs  the  credit  of  main 
taining  the  peace  of  both  America 
and  Europe.  The  peace  that  came 
to  the  two  combatants  was  the 
work  of  President  Roosevelt, 
after  Mr.  Hay's  death.  After  six 
months  of  effort,  President  Roose 
velt  persuaded  Russia  and  Japan 
to  join  in  a  conference.  This 
conference  of  the  two  powers  was 
held  nominally  at  Washington 
(really  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire),  and  terms  of  peace 
were  agreed  upon  (September, 
1905).2 

Progress  of  Civilization  in  the  American    States.  —  Students   of 
history  have  always  found  much  to  commend  in  the  general  char- 

1  See  page  372. 

2  The  Russians  were  represented  by  M.  (now  Count)  Witte  and  Ambassador 
Rosen,  the  Japanese  by  Baron  Komura  and  Minister  Takahira.    Under  the  terms 
Russia  agreed  to  surrender  Manchuria  to  the  Chinese,  and  to  cede  to  Japan  the 
southern  half  of  the  island  of  Sakhalin,  which  formerly  belonged  to  Japan.     It 
was  agreed  that  trade  in  Korea  and  Manchuria  should  be  unrestricted  and  free. 


JOHN  HAY. 


418  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

acter  of  the  American  people ;  they  have  also  found  much  to 
condemn.  Many  years  ago,  when  Mr.  Charles  Dickens  in  his 
"  American  Notes  "  described  our  bad  manners  in  public,  popular 
indignation  at  once  rose  high.  The  great  author  told  some  un 
pleasant  truths  in  a  painfully  blunt  way.  But  foreign  critics 
almost  always  give  us  credit  for  trying  to  be  fair,  and  this  trait  in 
a  people  is  always  the  open  door  to  a  better  civilization. 

But  whatever  may  be  either  the  virtues  or  the  shortcomings 
of  the  American  people,  the  traits  that  distinguish  them  from 
other  English-speaking  people  are  due  mainly  to  geographic  envi 
ronment.  Their  environment  has  been  powerful  enough  to  modify 
and  even  to  overcome  many  of  the  race  tendencies  inherited  from 
English  ancestors.  There  are  several  powerful  agents  through 
which  the  conditions  of  geographic  environment  have  operated ; 
these  are  chiefly  the  political  system,  the  literature,  the  system  of 
public  education,  and  church  organizations. 

The  Political  System.  — The  organization  of  political  parties  is 
in  many  ways  founded  on  the  township  meeting ;  from  this  form 
of  political  meeting  are  descended  the  district  primaries  and  ward 
associations  in  which  political  parties  now  generally  meet.  In 
such  meetings  all  citizens  stand  upon  equal  footing,  and  these 
meetings  are  the  foundation  of  all  political  measures,  national  and 
state.  The  political  work  of  the  primaries  has  not  been  always 
creditable,  but  the  fault  lies  with  the  people  themselves.  Foreign 
critics  have  told  us  in  very  plain  terms  that  the  indifference  of  the 
American  citizen  to  political  duties  is  a  marked  weak  spot  in  the 
American  system  of  government,  and  this  is  undoubtedly  true. 
The  leadership  of  the  political  "boss"  is,  in  many  respects,  a 
necessary  element  in  American  politics  ;  therefore  it  devolves 
upon  the  people  at  the  primaries  to  see  to  it  that  he  shall  be  a 
leader  of  sterling  character.  When  great  moral  questions  are 
at  issue,  the  people  may  be  depended  upon  to  do  the  right 
thing. 

The  Newspapers.  —  It  is  claimed  by  many  critics  of  American 
literature  that  only  a  few  American  writers  belong  in  the  same 
class  with  the  best  English  writers,  and  perhaps  this  is  true.  But 
there  is  one  form  Of  literature  that  has  always  been  a  tremendous 


KECENT  EVENTS  419 

power  for  good,  whatever  its  literary  merit,  namely  the  news 
paper.  Granting  that  many  newspapers  are  not  up  to  the  stand 
ard  of  the  best  literature,  there  are  two  features  about  them  that 
make  them  mighty  in  their  effect :  they  print  news,  and  they  stand 
invariably  for  good  against  evil.  Let  an  act  be  committed  against 
the  public  welfare,  and  in  less  than  twelve  hours  the  whole  world 
knows  it.  With  the  searchlight  of  a  good  newspaper  turned  upon 
it,  the  days  of  an  evil  are  numbered. 

The  newspapers  have  been  a  strong  ally  of  the  people  in  the 
fight  against  the  domination  of  party  "  machines "  and  political 
corruption.  When  it  has  been  shown  that  a  man  has  used  his 
public  office  for  unrighteous  gains,  the  newspapers  have  united 
their  forces  and  forgotten  their  political  differences  in  order  to 
enforce  the  demand  of  the  people  for  exposure  and  punishment. 
The  elections  of  1905  showed  notable  examples  of  this  spirit  and 
of  the  success  which  may  reward  the  fight  against  disgraceful 
political  machines. 

Education. — The  public  schools  of  the  country  also  have 
wrought  a  wonderful  work.  Every  state  in  the  Union  supports 
schools  that  are  free.  In  many  localities  books,  transportation  to 
and  from  school,  and  medical  attendance  are  furnished  in  addition 
to  tuition.  Education  is  recognized  as  a  necessity  for  the  de 
velopment  of  good  citizenship,  and  the  Americans  pay  yearly 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  billion  dollars  for  it  —  more,  in  fact, 
than  is  paid  by  any  other  people  in  the  world.1 

One  effect  of  this  widely  diffused  system  of  education  has  been 
more  important  than  its  founders  dreamed.  The  emigration  from 
European  states  to  America  is  very  great,  and  includes  yearly 
not  far  from  one  hundred  thousand  children.  The  immigrants  of 
mature  age  do  not  materially  change  their  manners  and  habits; 
some  of  them,  indeed,  never  learn  to  speak  the  English  language. 
With  the  young  children,  however,  the  case  is  different ;  they  are 
at  once  sent  to  school,  and  when  their  school  life  is  finished,  they 

1  Most  states  have  provided  for  higher  instruction  by  establishing  universities. 
Most  universities,  however,  have  been  endowed  by  private  benefactions.  The 
gifts  of  three  men,  Leland  Stanford,  John  D.  Rockefeller,  and  Andrew  Car 
negie,  in  this  direction,  have  aggregated  about  fifty  millions  of  dollars. 


420  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

are  "Americanized."     As  a  result,  there  is  only  one  generation 
of  foreign  people  in  the  country  at  a  time. 

Religion.  —  The  religious  life  of  the  American  people  is  broad. 
It  has  been  asserted  that  the  people  as  a  whole  are  skeptical  in 
belief  and  irreverent  in  their  lives;  nevertheless,  there  is  no 
other  country  in  the  world  in  which  the  religious  life  is  more 
practically  lived.  Three  classes  of  religious  associations  — 
Catholics,  Protestants,  and  Jews  —  comprise  the  greater  part  of 
the  population,  so  far  as  religious  belief  is  concerned.  Their 
creeds  and  teachings  are  diverse,  but  in  one  respect  they  are  a 
unit  —  they  stand  for  righteousness  against  evil  and  for  strict 
duty.  For  these  essentials  they  have  ever  battled  fiercely ; 
without  such  foundations,  what  hope  could  there  be  for  the 
future  of  the  Eepublic  ? 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

Ix  CONGRESS,  July  4,  1776. 

A  DECLARATION  BY  THE  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES   OF 
AMERICA,  IN    CONGRESS    ASSEMBLED. 

WHEN,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one 
people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with 
another,  and  to  assume,  among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and 
equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle 
them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they 
should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self -evident:  —  That  all  men  are  created 
equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable 
rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 
That,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed  ;  that,  when 
ever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the 
right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  gov 
ernment,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organising  its 
powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their 
safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments 
long  established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ; 
and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more  dis 
posed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by 
abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But,  when  a  long 
train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object, 
evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their 
right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to  provide  new 
guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance 
of  these  colonies  ;  and  such  is  now  the  necessity  that  constrains  them  to 
alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The  history  of  the  present 

3 


4  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations, 
all  having,  in  direct  object,  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny 
over  these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid 
world. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary 
for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  Governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  press 
ing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operation  till  his  assent  should 
be  obtained ;  and,  when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend 
to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large 
districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of 
representation  in  the  legislature  —  a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  for 
midable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncom 
fortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of  their  public  records,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his  measure. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  opposing,  with 
manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others 
to  be  elected  ;  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation, 
have  returned  to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise ;  the  State  remain 
ing,  in  the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  dangers  of  invasion  from  without, 
and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States ;  for  that 
purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners ;  refus 
ing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the 
conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his  assent 
to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure  of 
their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of 
officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies,  without  the 
consent  of  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to, 
the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to 
our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws ;  giving  his  assent 
to  their  acts  of  pretended  legislation  :  — 


APPENDIX  5 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us ; 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  mur 
ders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world ; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent ; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offences ; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring 
province,  establishing  there  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarging  its 
boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for 
introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies ; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and 
altering,  fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our  governments  ; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested 
with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protec 
tion,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our  towns,  and 
destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to 
complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun  with 
circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  bar 
barous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas, 
to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their 
friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrection  amongst  us,  and  has  endeavored 
to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the  merciless  Indian  savages, 
whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all 
ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned  for  redress,  in 
the  most  humble  terms;  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only 
by  repeated  injury.  A  prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every 
act  which  may  define  a  tyrant  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  our  attentions  to  our  British  brethren. 
We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by  their  leg 
islature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have 
reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settlement 
here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity;  and 
we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our  common  kindred,  to  disavow 
these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and 


6 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of 
consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which 
denounces  our  separation ;  and  hold  them,  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  man 
kind,  enemies  in  war,  in  peace  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in 
General  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the 
world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and 
declare,  That  these  united  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free 
and  independent  states ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the 
British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them  and  the 
state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved ;  and  that,  as 
free  and  independent  states,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude 
peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts 
and  things  which  independent  states  may  of  right  do.  And,  for  the 
support  of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of 
Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our 
fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 

The  foregoing  Declaration  was,  by  order  of  Congress,  engrossed  and 
signed  by  the  following  members  :  — 

John  Hancock. 


NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 
Josiah  Bartlett, 
William  Whipple, 
Matthew  Thornton. 

MASSACHUSETTS  BAY. 
Samuel  Adams, 
John  Adams, 
Robert  Treat  Paine, 
Elbridge  Gerry. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

Stephen  Hopkins, 
William  Ellery. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger  Sherman, 
Samuel  Huntington, 
William  Williams, 
Oliver  Wolcott. 


NEW  YORK. 

William  Floyd, 
Philip  Livingston, 
Francis  Lewis, 
Lewis  Morris. 

NEW  JERSEY. 
Richard  Stockton, 
John  Witherspoon, 
Francis  Hopkinson, 
John  Hart, 
Abraham  Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Robert  Morris, 
Benjamin  Rush, 
Benjamin  Franklin, 
John  Morton. 


George  Clymer, 
James  Smith, 
George  Taylor, 
James  Wilson, 
George  Ross. 


DELAWARE. 
Caesar  Rodney, 
George  Read, 
Thomas  M'Kean. 


MARYLAND. 

Samuel  Chase, 
William  Paca, 
Thomas  Stone, 
Charles  Carroll,  of  Car- 
rollton. 


APPENDIX 


VIRGINIA. 
George  Wythe, 
Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Thomas  Jefferson, 
Benjamin  Harrison, 
Thomas  Nelson,  Jr., 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 
Carter  Braxton. 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 

William  Hooper, 
Joseph  Hewes, 
John  Penn. 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 
Edward  Rutledore. 


Thomas  Heyward,  Jr., 
Thomas  Lynch,  Jr., 
Arthur  Middleton. 

GEORGIA. 

Button  Gwinnett, 
Lyman  Hall, 
George  Walton. 


Resolved  that  copies  of  the  Declaration  be  sent  to  the  several  assem 
blies,  conventions,  and  committees,  or  councils  of  safety,  and  to  the 
several  commanding  officers  of  the  continental  troops;  that  it  be  pro 
claimed  in  each  of  the  United  States,  at  the  head  of  the  army. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

WE  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domestic  Tranquillity,  provide  for  the 
common  defence,  promote  the  general  Welfare,  and  secure  the  Bless 
ings  of  Liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  Posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  CONSTITUTION  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

[In  reprinting  the  Constitution  here,  the  spelling,  punctuation,  and  capitaliza 
tion  of  the  original  have  been  preserved.] 

Section  i.  All  legislative  Powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives. 

Section  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  Mem 
bers  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  People  of  the  several  States,  and 
the  Electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  Qualifications  requisite  for 
Electors  of  the  most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  Age  of  twenty  five  years,  and  been  seven  Years  a  Citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that 
State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to 
their  respective  Numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the 
whole  Number  of  free  Persons,  including  those  bound  to  Service  for  a 
Term  of  Years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other 
Persons.  The  actual  Enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  Years 
after  the  first  Meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within 
every  subsequent  Term  of  ten  Years,  in  such  Manner  as  they  shall  by 
Law  direct.  The  Number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for 
every  Thirty  Thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  Least  one  Repre 
sentative  ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New 

8 


APPENDIX  9 

Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  chuse  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode- 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New-York  six, 
New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Vir 
ginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation  from  any  State,  the 
Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs  of  Election  to  fill  such 
Vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  chuse  their  Speaker  and  other 
officers ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  Power  of  Impeachment. 

Section  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof,  for  six 
Years ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  Vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Consequence  of  the 
first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three 
Classes.  The  Seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  Class  shall  be  vacated  at 
the  Expiration  of  the  second  Year,  of  the  second  Class  at  the  Expiration 
of  the  fourth  Year,  and  of  the  third  Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  sixth 
Yrear,  so  that  one -third  may  be  chosen  every  second  Year ;  and  if 
Vacancies  happen  by  Resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of 
the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary 
Appointments  until  the  next  Meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall 
then  fill  such  Vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  Age 
of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years  a  Citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  for 
which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of  the 
Senate,  but  shall  have  no  Vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Officers,  and  also  a  President  pro 
tempore,  in  the  Absence  of  the  Vice  President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise 
the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to  try  all  Impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they  shall  be  on  Oath  or  Affirmation. 
When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall 
preside :  And  no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  Concurrence  of 
two  thirds  of  the  Members  present. 

Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than  to 
removal  from  Office,  and  Disqualification  to  hold  and  en-joy  any  Office  of 
honour,  Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United  States :  but  the  Party  convicted 
shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject  to  Indictment,  Trial,  Judgment 
and  Punishment,  according  to  Law. 


10  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Section  4.  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  holding  Elections  for 
Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the 
Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  Law  make  or 
alter  such  Regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  chusing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  Year,  and  such 
Meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by 
Law  appoint  a  different  Day. 

Section  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the  Elections,  Returns 
and  Qualifications  of  its  own  Members,  and  a  Majority  of  each  shall  con 
stitute  a  Quorum  to  do  Business;  but  a  smaller  Number  may -adjourn 
from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  Attendance  of 
absent  Members,  in  such  Manner,  and  under  such  Penalties  as  each 
House  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings,  punish  its 
Members  for  disorderly  Behaviour,  and,  with  the  Concurrence  of  two 
thirds,  expel  a  Member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceedings,  and  from  time  to 
time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  Parts  as  may  in  their  Judgment 
require  Secrecy;  and  the  Yeas  and  Nays  of  the  Members  of  either  House 
on  any  question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  Present,  be 
entered  on  the  Journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the 
Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other 
Place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  Com 
pensation  for  their  Services,  to  be  ascertained  by  Law,  and  paid  out  of 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all  Cases,  except 
Treason,  Felony  and  Breach  of  the  Peace,  be  privileged  from  Arrest 
during  their  Attendance  at  the  Session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and 
in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate 
in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  Place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  Time  for  which  he 
was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  Office  under  the  Authority  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  Emoluments 
whereof  shall  have  been  encreased  during  such  time;  and  no  Person 
holding  any  Office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a  Member  of  either 
House  during  his  Continuance  in  Office. 

Section  7.  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House 
of  Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  Amend 
ments  as  on  other  Bills. 


APPENDIX  11 

Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  Law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States ;  If  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return 
it,  with  his  Objections  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who 
shall  enter  the  Objections  at  large  on  their  Journal,  and  proceed  to  recon 
sider  it.  If  after  such  Reconsideration  two  thirds  of  that  House  shaft 
agree  to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  Objections,  to  the 
other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved 
by  two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  Law.  But  in  all  such 
cases  the  Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  Nays, 
and  the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting  for  and  against  the  Bill  shall  be 
entered  on  the  Journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If  any  Bill  shall  not 
be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  Days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it 
shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  Manner 
as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  Adjournment  pre 
vent  its  Return,  in  which  Case  it  shall  not  be  a  Law. 

Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to  which  the  Concurrence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a 
question  of  Adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States;  and  before  the  Same  shall  take  Effect,  shall  be  approved 
by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  Rules  and 
Limitations  prescribed  in  the  Case  of  a  Bill. 

Section  8.     The  Congress  shall  have  Power 

To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises,  to  pay  the 
Debts  and  provide  for  the  common  Defence  and  general  Welfare  of  the 
United  States;  but  all  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States  ; 

To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and  among  the  several 
States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization,  and  uniform  Laws,  on  . 
the  subject  of  Bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States; 

To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  Coin,  and 
fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  Securities  and 
current  Coin  of  the  United  States ; 

To  establish  Post  Offices  and  post  Roads ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by  securing  for 
limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the  exclusive  Right  to  their  re 
spective  Writings  and  Discoveries ; 


12  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  Court; 

To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  committed  on  the  high 
Seas,  and  Offences  against  the  Law  of  Nations ; 

To  declare  War,  grant  letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal,  and  make 
Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land  and  Water  ; 

*•    To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no  Appropriation  of  Money  to  that 
Use  shall  be  for  a  longer  Term  than  two  Years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy ; 

To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of  the  land  and 
naval  Forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  execute  the  Laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  Insurrections  and  repel  Invasions; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining,  the  Militia,  and 
for  governing  such  Part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  Service  of 
the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively,  the  Appointment 
of  the  Officers,  and  the  Authority  of  training  the  Militia  according  to 
the  Discipline  prescribed  by  Congress  ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all  Cases  whatsoever,  over  such 
District  (not  exceeding  ten  Miles  square)  as  may,  by  Cession  of  particu 
lar  States,  arid  the  Acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  Seat  of  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  Authority  over  all 
Places  purchased  by  the  Consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in 
which  the  Same  shall  be,  for  the  Erection  of  Forts,  Magazines,  Arsenals, 
Dock-Yards,  and  other  needful  Buildings  ;. —  And 

To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  Execution  the  foregoing  Powers,  and  all  other  Powers  vested  by  this 
Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  Depart 
ment  or  Officer  thereof. 

Section  9.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such  Persons  as  any  of 
the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  pro 
hibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eight,  but  a  Tax  or  Duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  Importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  Person. 

The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall  not  be  suspended, 
unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Invasion  the  public  Safety  may 
require  it. 

No  Bill  of  Attainder  or  ex  post  facto  Law  shall  be  passed. 

No  Capitation,  or  other  direct,  Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  Proportion 
to  the  Census  or  Enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be  taken. 

No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles  exported  from  any  State. 

No   Preference  shall  be  given  by  any   Regulation  of  Commerce  or 


APPENDIX  13 

Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another :  nor  shall  Vessels 
bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  Duties 
in  another. 

No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  Consequence  of 
Appropriations  made  by  Law;  and  a  regular  Statement  and  Account  of 
the  Receipts  and  Expenditures  of  all  public  Money  shall  be  published 
fro  ni  time  to  time. 

No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States:  And  no« 
Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust  under  them,  shall,  without 
the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  Emolument,  Office, 
or  Title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King,  Prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alliance,  or  Confed 
eration  ;  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal ;  coin  Money ;  emit  Bills 
of  Credit ;  make  any  Thing  but  gold  and  silver  Coin  a  Tender  in  Pay 
ment  of  Debts ;  pass  any  Bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post  facto  Law,  or  Law 
impairing  the  Obligation  of  Contracts,  or  grant  any  Title  of  Nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  Imposts 
or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  neces 
sary  for  executing  it's  inspection  Laws:  and  the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties 
and  Imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  Imports  or  Exports,  shall  be  for  the 
Use  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be 
subject  to  the  Revision  and  Controul  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  Duty  of 
Tonnage,  keep  Troops,  or  Ships  of  War  in  time  of  Peace,  enter  into  any 
Agreement  or  Compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  Power,  or 
engage  in  War,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  Danger  as 
will  not  admit  of  Delay. 

ARTICLE.   II. 

Section  i.  The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  Office  during  the  Term  of 
four  Years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice  President,  chosen  for  the  same 
Term,  be  elected,  as  follows 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Manner  as  the  Legislature  thereof 
may  direct,  a  Number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the  whole  Number  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  : 
but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  Person  holding  an  Office  of  Trust  or 
Profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

1  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  Ballot 

1  This  clause  has  been  superseded  by  the  12th  amendment,  see  page  21. 


14  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  Inhabitant  of  the 
same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  List  of  all  the 
Persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  Number  of  Votes  for  each  ;  which  List  they 
shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  Seat  of  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  Presence  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  open  all  the  Certificates,  and  the  Votes  shall  then  be 
•counted.  The  Person  having  the  greatest  Number  of  Votes  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  Number  be  a  Majority  of  the  whole  Number  of  Elec 
tors  appointed ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  Majority 
and  have  an  equal  number  of  Votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  immediately  chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if 
no  Person  have  a  Majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  List  the 
said  House  shall  in  like  manner  chuse  the  President.  But  in  chusing 
the  President,  the  Votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  Representation 
from  each  State  having  one  Vote;  a  Quorum  for  this  Purpose  shall 
consist  of  a  Member  or  Members  from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and  a 
Majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  Case, 
after  the  Choice  of  the  President,  the  Person  having  the  greatest  Number 
of  Votes  of  the  "Electors  shall  be  the  Vice  President.  But  if  there 
should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  Votes,  the  Senate  shall  chuse 
from  them  by  Ballot  the  Vice  President. 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  chusing  the  Electors,  and 
the  Day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  Votes ;  which  Day  shall  be  the 
same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  Person  except  a  natural  born  Citizen,  or  a  Citizen  of  the  United 
States,  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible 
to  the  Office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  Person  be  eligible  to  that 
Office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  Age  of  Thirty  five  Years,  and 
been  fourteen  Years  a  Resident  within  the  United  States. 

In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from  Office,  or  of  his  Death, 
Resignation,  or  Inability  to  discharge  the  Powers  and  Duties  of  the  said 
office  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice  President,  and  the  Congress 
may  by  Law  provide  for  the  Case  of  Removal,  Death,  Resignation,  or 
Inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice  President,  declaring  what 
Officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  Officer  shall  act  ac 
cordingly,  until  the  Disability  be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be 
elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  his  services,  a  Com 
pensation,  which  shall  neither  be  encreased  nor  diminished  during  the 
Period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive 


APPENDIX  15 

within  that  Period  any  other  Emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any 
of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  he  shall  take  the  follow 
ing  Oath  or  Affirmation  :  — 

11 1  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best  of  my 
Ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

Section  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Militia  of  the  several  States, 
when  called  into  the  actual  Service  of  the  United  States ;  he  may  require 
the  Opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  Officer  in  each  of  the  executive 
Departments,  upon  any  Subject  relating  to  the  Duties  of  their  respective 
Offices,  and  he  shall  have  Power  to  grant  Reprieves  and  Pardons  for 
Offences  against  the  United  States,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the 
Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators  present 
concur ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Con 
sent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers 
and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  supreme  Court,  and  all  other  Officers  of  the 
United  States,  whose  Appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for, 
and  which  shall  be  established  by  Law:  but  the  Congress  may  by  Law 
vest  the  Appointment  of  such  inferior  Officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the 
President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the  Heads  of  Departments. 

The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  Vacancies  that  may  hap 
pen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  Commissions  which 
shall  expire  at  the  End  of  their  next  Session. 

Section  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  Informa 
tion  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  Consideration 
such  Measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on 
extraordinary  Occasions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and 
in  Case  of  Disagreement  between  them,  with  Respect  to  the  time  of 
Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  Time  as  he  shall  think 
proper;  he  shall  receive  Ambassadors  and  other  public  Ministers;  he 
shall  take  Care  that  the  Laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  Com 
mission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  4.  The  President,  Vice  President  and  all  civil  Officers  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  Office  on  Impeachment  cfor, 
and  Conviction  of,  Treason,  Bribery,  or  other  high  Crimes  and  Mis 
demeanors. 


16  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


ARTICLE.    III. 

-  Section  i.  The  Judicial  Power  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  vested 
in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as  the  Congress  may 
from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges,  both  of  the 
supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their  Offices  during  good  Be 
havior,  and  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  their  Services,  a  Compen 
sation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  Continuance  in 
Office. 

Section  2.  The  Judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all  Cases,  in  Law  and 
Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  Laws  of  the  United  States, 
and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  Authority;  — 
to  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls ; 
—  to  all  Cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  Jurisdiction  ;  —  to  Controver 
sies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  Party ;  —  to  Controversies 
between  two  or  more  States; — between  a  State  and  Citizens  of  another 
State ;  — •  between  Citizens  of  different  States,  —  between  Citizens  of  the 
same  State  claiming  Lands  under  Grants  of  different  States,  and  be 
tween  a  State,  or  the  Citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citizens 
or  Subjects. 

In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and  Con 
suls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  Party,  the  supreme  Court  shall 
have  original  Jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  Cases  before  mentioned,  the 
supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  Jurisdiction,  both  as  to  Law  and 
Fact,  with  such  Exceptions,  and  under  such  Regulations  as  the  Congress 
shall  make. 

The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment,  shall  be  by 
Jury ;  and  such  Trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  Crimes 
shall  have  been  committed  ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State, 
the  Trial  shall  be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the  Congress  may  by  Law 
have  directed. 

Section  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  consist  only  in 
levying  War  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  Enemies,  giving  them 
Aid  and  Comfort.  No  Person  shall  be  convicted  of  Treason  unless  on 
the  Testimony  of  two  Witnesses  to  the  same  overt  Act,  or  on  Confession 
in  open  Court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the  Punishment  of  Treason, 
but  no  Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work  Corruption  of  Blood,  or  Forfeit 
ure  except  during  the  Life  of  th.3  Person  attainted. 


APPENDIX  11 


ARTICLE.     IV. 

Section  i.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the 
public  Acts,  Records,  and  judicial  Proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And 
the  Congress  may  by  general  Laws  prescribe  the  Manner  in  whichNsuch 
Acts,  Records,  and  Proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof. 

Section  2.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  Privi 
leges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Felony,  or  other  Crime, 
who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall  on  De 
mand  of  the  executive  Authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be 
delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  Jurisdiction  of  the 
Crime. 

No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State,  under  the  Laws 
thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  Consequence  of  any  Law  or  Regu 
lation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  Service  or  Labour,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom  such  Service  or  Labour  may 
be  due. 

Section  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this 
Union;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  Jurisdic 
tion  of  any  other  State  ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  Junction  of  two 
or  more  States,  or  Parts  of  States,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Legisla 
tures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful 
Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the  Territory  or  other  Property  belong 
ing  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so 
construed  as  to  Prejudice  any  Claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  par 
ticular  State. 

Section  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this 
Union  a  Republican  Form  of  Government,  and  shall  protect  each  of 
them  against  Invasion,  and  on  Application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the 
Executive  (when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened)  against  domestic 
Violence. 

ARTICLE.    V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem  it 
necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the 
Application  of  the  Legislatures  of  tvvo  thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall 
call  a  Convention  for  proposing  Amendments,  which,  in  either  Case, 


18  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

shall  be  valid  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes,  as  Part  of  this  Constitution, 
when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three  fourths  of  the  several  States, 
or  by  Conventions  in  three  fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  Mode 
of  Ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress;  Provided  that  no 
Amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  Year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  Manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses 
in  the  Ninth  Section  of  the  first  Article ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its 
Consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE.   VI. 

All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements  entered  into,  before  the  Adop 
tion  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States 
under  this  Constitution,  as 'under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be 
made  in  pursuance  thereof  ;  and  all  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme 
Law7  of  the  Land ;  and  the  Judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby, 
any  Thing  in  the  Constitution  or  Laws  of  any  State  to  the  Contrary 
notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  Mem 
bers  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial 
Officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be 
bound  by  Oath  or  Affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no 
religious  Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  Qualification  to  any  Office  or 
public  Trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE.    VII. 

The  Ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States,  shall  be  sufficient 
for  the  Establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratify 
ing  the  Same, 

DONE  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Consent  of  the  States  present 
the  Seventeenth  Day  of  September  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  one  thou 
sand  seven  hundred  and  Eighty  seven  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  Twelfth.  En  S23ttness  whereof  We  have 
hereunto  subscribed  our  Names, 

G°  WASHINGTON  — 
Presidt  and  deputy  from  Virginia 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
John  Langdon  Nicholas  Gilman 


APPENDIX 


19 


MASSACHUSETTS. 
Nathaniel  Gorhain  Rufus  King 

CONNECTICUT. 
Wm  Saml  Johnson  Roger  Sherman 

NEW  YORK. 

Alexander  Hamilton 


Wil  Livingston 
Win  Paterson 


B  Franklin 
Robt  Morris 
Tho  Fitzsimons 
James  Wilson 


Geo  Read 
John  Dickinson 
Jaco  Broom 


James  M'Henry 
Danl  Carroll 


John  Blair 


Wm  Blount 
Hu  Williamson 


J  Rutledge 
Charles  Pinckney 


William  Few 


Attest: 


NEW  JERSEY. 

David  Brearley 
Jona  Dayton 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Thomas  Mifflin 
Geo  Clymer 
Jared  Ingersoll 
Gouv  Morris 

DELAWARE. 

Gunning  Bedford,  Jun'r 
Richard  Bassett 


MARYLAND. 

Dan  of  St  Thos  Jenifer 

VIRGINIA. 

James  Madison,  Jr 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Rich'd  Dobbs  Spaight 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney 
Pierce  Butler 

GEORGIA. 

Abr  Baldwin 
WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary 


20  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

ARTICLES   IN  ADDITION  TO,  AND  AMENDMENT  OF,  THE  CONSTI 
TUTION  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Proposed  by  Congress,  and  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States,  pursuant  to  the  fifth  article  of  the  original  Constitution. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion, 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech,  or  of  the  press  ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble, 
and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II. 

A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  State, 
the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. 

No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house,  without 
the  consent  of  the  Owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be 
prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE   IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers, 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be 
violated,  and  no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  sup 
ported  by  Oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to 
be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE   V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous 
crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  Grand  Jury,  except  in 
cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  Militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  War  or  public  danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject 
for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor  shall 
be  compelled  in  any  Criminal  Case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor 
be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law; 
nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just 
compensation. 


APPENDIX  21 


ARTICLE   VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a 
speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have 
been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature 
and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against 
him;  to  have  Compulsory  process  for  obtaining  Witnesses  in  his  favour, 
and  to  have  the  Assistance  of  Counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

In  Suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed 
twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact 
tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  Court  of  the  United 
States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE   IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be 
construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE   X. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively, 
or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI. 

The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to 
extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against 
one  of  the  United  States  by  Citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  Citizens  or 
Subjects  of  any  Foreign  State. 

ARTICLE   XII. 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by  ballot 
for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an 


22  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  their 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  per 
son  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all 
persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice- 
Preside  nt,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall 
sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate;  —  The  Presi 
dent  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ; 
—  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President,  shall 
be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the 
persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of 
those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose 
immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  Presi 
dent,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representation  from  each 
state  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  mem 
ber  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the 
states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  de 
volve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the 
Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other 
constitutional  disability  of  the  President.  —  The  person  having  the  great 
est  number  of  votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if 
such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed, 
and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on 
the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the 
purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and 
a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no 
person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be 
eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE   XIII. 

Section  i.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a 
punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted, 
shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their 
jurisdiction. 

Section.  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro 
priate  legislation. 


APPENDIX  23 

ARTICLE   XIV. 

Section  i.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any 
law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its 
jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Section.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States,  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  num 
ber  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when 
the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  president 
and  vice-president  of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Congress,  the 
executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  legisla 
ture  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State, 
being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in 
any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crimes, 
the  basis  of  representation  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the 
number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male 
citizens,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  in  such  State. 

Section.  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in  Congress, 
or  elector  of  president  or  vice-president,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  mili 
tary,  under  the  United  States  or  under  any  State,  who  having  pre 
viously  taken  an  oath  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the 
United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  execu 
tive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against 
the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress 
may  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house  remove  such  disability. 

Section.  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States, 
authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions 
and  bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall 
not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States,  nor  any  State,  shall 
assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or 
rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emanci 
pation  of  any  slave ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be 
held  illegal  and  void. 

Section.  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  appropriate 
legislation  the  provisions  of  this  article. 


24  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

ARTICLE   XV. 

Section  i.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall 
not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on 
account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Section.  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation. 


THE  STATES 
THE  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL  STATES 

1.  DELAWARE.  —  Named  in  honor  of  Lord  De  la  Warr.     Swedish 
settlement  near  Wilmington,  1638 ;  admitted  to  the  Union,  1787.     (For 
history,  see  p.  57.) 

2.  PENNSYLVANIA.  —  Name  given  by  Charles   II,  meaning  Perm's 
woods.     First  settlement,  1683;  admitted,  1787  (p.  54). 

3.  NEW  JERSEY.  —  Named  after  the  island  of  Jersey  (Csesarea),  in 
honor  of  its  governor,  Sir  George  Carteret.     Settlement  at  Bergen,  1617 ; 
admitted,  1787  (p.  52). 

4.  GEORGIA.  —  Named  in  honor  of  George  II.     Settlement  at  Savan 
nah,  1733;  admitted,  1788  (p.  41). 

5.  CONNECTICUT.  —  Indian  name  meaning  river  of  long  reaches.     Set 
tlement  at  Wethersfield  about  1634;  admitted,  1788  (p.  76). 

6.  MASSACHUSETTS.  —  Indian  name  probably  meaning  country  of  the 
hills.     Settlement  at  Plymouth,  1620;  admitted,  1788  (p.  65). 

7.  MARYLAND. —  Named    in    honor    of    Henrietta   Maria,    wife    of 
Charles  I.     Settlement  at  St.  Marys,  1634;  admitted,  1788  (p.  35). 

8.  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  —  Named  in  honor  of  Charles  II  (Latinized  form, 
Carolus).     Settlement  at  Charleston,  1670;  admitted,  1788  (p.  38). 

9.  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  —  Named   in   honor  of   Hampshire,   England. 
Settlement  at  Dover,  1627;  admitted,  1788  (p.  78). 

10.  VIRGINIA.  —  Named  in  honor  of  Elizabeth,  the  Virgin  Queen. 
Settlement  at  Jamestown,  1607;  admitted,  1788  (p.  26). 

11.  NEW  YORK.  —  Named  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  York  (afterward 
James  II).     Dutch  trading  post  at  Manhattan,  1613  ;  trading  post,  Fort 
Orange,  at  Albany,  1623;  Dutch  colony  at  New  Amsterdam,  1626;  ad- 

Lted,  1788.     French  fur  traders  had  established  posts  along  Hudson 
.ver  before  the  founding  of  Fort  Orange  (p.  45). 

12.  NORTH  CAROLINA.  — Named  in  honor  of  Charles  II.    Settlements 
on  Chowan  River  and  Albemarle  Sound  about  1663;  formally  separated 
from  South  Carolina,  1729;  admitted?  1789  (p.  38). 

13.  RHODE  ISLAND.  —  Named  from  the  Dutch  rood  eylandt,  or  red 
island,  from  the   color  of  the  cliffs.     Settlement  at  Providence,  1636; 
admitted,  1789  (p.  73). 

25 


26  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


STATES  ADDED   TO   THE   UNION   SINCE    1789 

14.  VERMONT. —  Named  from  the  French  verde  mont,  or  green  moun 
tain.     Trading  post  at  Fort  Dummer,  near  Brattleboro,  1724 ;  admitted, 
1791. 

15.  KENTUCKY.  —  Indian  name  whose  meaning  is  not  with  certainty 
known  —  possibly  dark  and  bloody  battle-grounds,  but  more  probably  the 
barrens,  as  descriptive  of  the  large  treeless  area  in  the  central  part. 
Explored  by  La  Salle  along  the  Ohio  River,  and  by  Daniel  Boone  in 
1769.      Settlement  by  James  Harrodsburg  about   1774,  and   by  Boone 
at  Boonesboro  about  the  same  time.     County  of  Kentucky  (then  a  part 
of  Virginia)  established  through  efforts  of  George  Rogers  Clark,  1776. 
Formally  separated  from  Virginia,  1792.     Much  of  the  area  of  the  state 
was  purchased  from  the  Cherokee  Indians  by  the  Transylvania  Company, 
a  land-exploiting  corporation.     Admitted,  1792. 

16.  TENNESSEE.  —  Indian    name   meaning    river    of  the    great    bend. 
Present  site  of  Memphis  visited  by  De  Soto,  1541,  and  fort  built  on  or 
near  the  same  site  by  La  Salle  about  1682.     French  trading  post  near 
Nashville  built  by  Charleville,  1714.     Explored  by  Thomas  Walker,  who 
discovered  the  mountain  range  and  pass  now  called  Cumberland  Range 
and  Gap,  1748.     Fort  Loudon  built  in  1756.     Watuga  settled  by  immi 
grants  from  Virginia  and  Carolina,  1769.     State  of   Franklin  formed, 
1784;  organized  as  Territory  South  of  the  Ohio,  1790;  admitted,  1792. 

17.  OHIO.  —  Indian  name  meaning  beautiful  valley.  Claimed  by  France 
on  account  of  explorations  by  La  Salle  about  1760 ;  claimed  also  by  Con 
necticut,  Virginia,  Massachusetts,  and  New  York.  Territorial  organiza 
tion  formed  in  1787.  Association  of  Boston  caj!lfe,lists  formed  Ohio 
Company  about  1787,  and  made  settlement  at  Marietta,  1788.  Troubles 
with  Indians  were  settled  by  General  "Mad  Anthony"  Wayne,  who 
severely  punished  them  at  a  battle  on  the  Maumee,  1794.  Territorial 
legislature  met  at  Cincinnati,  1799.  Chillicothe  state  capital,  1800- 
1810;  Zanesville,  1810-1812;  Columbus,  since  1816.  Admitted,  1803. 

18.  LOUISIANA.  —  Named  in  honor  of  Louis  XIV  of  France.  Lower 
Mississippi  visited  by  Pineda,  1519,  who  reported  that  the  Indians  had 
established  several  large  pueblos.  Probably  visited  by  De  Soto  also 
about  1541.  Visited  in  1682  by  La  Salle,  who  took  possession  of  the 
territory  for  Louis  XIV  of  France.  Explored  also  by  the  brothers  Le 
Moyne  (Bienville  and  Iberville).  Settlement  founded  near  the  head  of  the 
Mississippi  delta  about  1700.  Trading  franchises  which  were  granted  to 
Crozat,  1712,  and  to  John  Law  about  1718,  led  to  the  settlement  of  New 
Orleans,  1718.  Made  a  royal  province,  1731,  and  surrendered  to  Great 


APPENDIX  27 

Britain,  1763.  New  Orleans  and  the  mouth  of  the  river  were  excepted 
from  the  treaty,  and  were  secretly  given  by  Napoleon  to  Spain,  but  again 
were  restored  to  France.  The  whole  territory  was  sold  to  the  United 
States,  1803.  State  of  Louisiana  admitted,  1812. 

19.  INDIANA.  —  Adapted  from  the  word  Indian.     A  part  of  the  terri 
tory  claimed  by  France  and  transferred  to  Great  Britain,  1763.     Visited 
about  1669  by  La  Salle,  who  induced  the  Indians  to  join  in  a  confedera 
tion  against  the  Iroquoians.      French    settlement  at   Vincennes    about 
1702  (?),  designated  a  military  post,  1731.     In  1778  the  country  including 
the  present  state  of  Indiana  was  surrendered  to  George    Rogers  Clark, 
and  came   under  the  control  of  the  Americans,  and  in  1787  became  a 
part  of  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio.     Indiana  Territory  was 
formed,  1800,  and  from  its  area  Michigan  was  set  off,  1805,  and  Illinois, 
1809.     Tecumseh,  a  chief  of  the  Shawnee  Indians,  attempted  to  form  a 
federation  of  Indian  tribes  for  the  purpose  of  driving  the  white  settlers 
from  the  territory,  but  was  defeated   (1811)   by  General  Harrison  at 
Tippecanoe  Creek.    In  1820  the  site  of  Indianapolis,  then  a  small  village, 
was  selected  for  the  state  capital.     The  sect  of  Harmonists,  or  Rappites, 
settled  at  New  Harmony  about  1815.     Admitted  to  the  Union,  1816. 

20.  MISSISSIPPI.  —  Indian  name  meaning  master  stream,  or  father  of 
waters.     Explored  by  De  Soto  from  Columbus  to  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  1541 ; 
by  Marquette  and  Joliet  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  1673 ; 
and  by  La  Salle  in  1682.     Colony  established  at  Biloxi  by  Iberville  (Le 
Moyne),  1699.     Settlement  at  Natchez  about  1716.    Territory  established 
with  capital  at  Natchez,  1798.    Boundaries  fixed  practically  as  at  present, 
1804-1812.     Admitted  to  the  Union,  1817. 

21.  ILLINOIS.  —  French  form  of  an  Indian  name  meaning  the  tribes,  or 
people.     Traversed  by  Joliet  and  Marquette,  1673,  La  Salle,  1679,  and 
Tonti  a  few  years  later.     Settlements  at  Cahokia  probably  in  1682,  and  at 
Kaskaskia  about  1700.     Area  comprised  in  the  state  was  part  of  French 
Louisiana  until  1763,  when  it  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain.     Captured 
from   Great  Britain  by  George   Rogers   Clark  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution.     A  part  of  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio,  1787,  and 
set  off  from  Indiana  Territory  in  1809.    Kaskaskia  the  capital,  1700-1778. 
Fort  Dearborn,  founded  in  1803-1804,  was  the  beginning  of  Chicago. 
Admitted  to  the  Union,  1818. 

22.  ALABAMA.  —  Indian  name  meaning  resting  place.     French  settle 
ment  on  Mobile  Bay,  1702,  by  Bienville  (Le  Moyne)  ;  Mobile  founded, 
1711-1713.      A  part  of  Louisiana  until  1783;   later  a  part  of  Georgia 
and  South  Carolina;  then  a  part  of  Mississippi  Territory  until  1817. 
Admitted  as  a  state,  1819. 


28  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

23.  MAINE.  —  Named  possibly  from  the  long  stretch  of  "  main,"  or 
coast,  near  which  vessels  kept  in  following  the  new  route  to  the  Ameri 
can  colonies.     Settlement  at  Pemaquid,  1625.     Admitted,  1820  (p.  78). 

24.  MISSOURI.  —  Indian   name  meaning   muddy   water.      A   part   of 
French  Louisiana.     A  part  was  acquired  in  1763,  the  rest  in  1803;  the 
first  by  British  conquest,  the  rest  by  purchase.     French  fort  and  trading 
post  at  Fort  Orleans,  near  Jefferson  City,  about  1719 ;  at  Ste.  Genevieve 
about  1735 ;  New  Madrid  was  founded  probably  about  the  same  time. 
The  site  of  St.  Louis  was  chosen  by  Pierre  Laclede  Liguest,  1763.     The 
"upper,"  or  northern,  and  the  "lower,"  or  southern,  parts  were  united 
as  a  territory  in  1812  and  admitted  as  a  state  in  1821. 

25.  ARKANSAS.  —  Indian  name  "  Kansas,"  meaning  misty  water,  and 
^possibly  French  "arc,"  a  bow.      A  part  of  Louisiana  Purchase  and  of 

Louisiana  Territory,  1803  ;  of  Missouri  Territory,  1812  ;  and  of  Arkansas 
Territory  in  1819.  Indian  Territory  set  off  in  1836,  leaving  Aakansas  in 
its  present  form.  French  settlement,  in  1686,  at  Arkansas  Post,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  River.  Peopled  mainly  from  Southern  states. 
Admitted  as  a  state,  1836. 

26.  MICHIGAN.  —  Indian  name  meaning  fish  weir.     French  settlement 
at  Mackinac  about  1680  ;  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  (St.  Mary's  Falls)  about  ten 
years  previously.     Detroit  founded  for  strategic  purposes,  1701.     A  part 
of  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio.    Set  off  from  Indiana  and  organ 
ized  as  a  territory,  1805 ;  admitted  as  a  state,  1837. 

27.  FLORIDA.  —  Spanish   name   "  Pasqua   Florida,"  meaning  flowery 
Easter.      Visited  by  Ponce   de   Leon   in  1513,  on  Easter  Sunday ;  by 
Narvaez  at  Tampa  Bay,  1528;   and  at  Tampa  Bay  by  De  Soto,  1539. 
Fort  at  St.  Augustine  built,  1565,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  French 
aggressions.     After  being  possessed  by  Spain,  Great  Britain,   and  the 
United  States  (the  latter  holding  the  eastern  part),  the  whole  territory 
was  formally  ceded  to  the  United  States.    Organized  as  a  territory,  1822  ; 
admitted  to  the  Union,  1845. 

28.  TEXAS.  —  Probably  the  Spanish  form  of  an  Indian  name  whose 
meaning  is  not  known.     Visited  as  early  as  1528  by  Cabeza  de  Vaca ; 
Spanish  missions  organized  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  French  occupa 
tion  as  early  as  1715,  one  being  established  at  San  Antonio,  at  the  old 
mission  house  known  as  the  Alamo.     Remained  a  Spanish  possession 
until  the  Republic  of  Texas  was  formed.    French  settlement  at  Lavaca, 
1685.     Admitted  to  the  Union,  1845  (p.  273). 

29.  IOWA. — French  form  of  an  Indian  name  meaning  sleepyheads  — 
a  term  applied  by  the  Sioux  to  the  Gray  Snow  Indians.     Visited  by 
Marquette  and  Joliet  about  1673.     Settlement  made  at  present  site  of 


APPENDIX  29 

Dubuque  by  Julien  Dubuque,  for  the  purpose  of  working  the  lead  mines. 
A  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  In  turn  it  was  attached  to  Louisiana, 
Indiana,  Missouri,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.  Became  a  separate  terri 
tory  in  1838 ;  admitted  as  a  state,  1846. 

30.  WISCONSIN.  —  Indian  name  meaning  rushing  waters,  in  descrip 
tion  of  the  dalles  of   Wisconsin    River.     Visited  by  Jean  Nicolet  at 
Green  Bay  and  the  Fox  River,  1634-1635,  and  by  Radisson  and  Groseil- 
lers  about  1658-1659,  when,  near  Ashland,  they  built  a  stockade  and 
fort.     St.  Xavier  Mission  established  by  Allouez,  at  Depere,  about  1563. 
Permanent  white  settlement  at  Green  Bay  about  1750,  at  Prairie  du 
Chien  about  1781,  and  at  Milwaukee,  Portage,  and  La  Pointe  about  1795- 
1800.     A  part  of  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio.     Made  a  terri 
tory  in  1836 ;  admitted  as  a  state,  1848. 

31.  CALIFORNIA.  —  Spanish   name   occurring  in  a  work  of  fiction, 
applied  to  an  island  in  which  gold  was  very  plentiful.     Visited  at  Cape 
Mendoza  (Mendocino)  by  Cabrillo,  1542 ;  at  Drake's  Bay  by  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  1578;  and  by  Viscayno  in  1602.     Mission  settlement  established 
by  Franciscan  Fathers  at  San  Diego,  1769,  and  elsewhere ;  Mission  Do 
lores  established  at  San  Francisco,  1776.     A  Spanish  possession  until  the 
independence  of  Mexico ;  a  conquest  of  the  Mexican  War  in  1847,  when 
Commodore  Stockton  took  possession  for  the  United  States.     Gold  dis 
covered  by  John  Marshall,  1848.     Admitted  as  a  state,  1850  (p.  277). 

32.  MINNESOTA.  —  Indian  name  meaning  white  water,  applied  to  Min 
nesota  River.    Explored  by  Father  Hennepin,  who  discovered  falls  which 
he  named  St.  Anthony.  1680 ;  also  by  Captain  Jonathan  Carver.    Area 
east  of  Mississippi  River  acquired  by  conquest  from  France,  1763,  becom 
ing  a  part  of  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio;  area  west  of  Missis 
sippi  River  a  part  of  Louisiana  Purchase ;  subsequently  a  part  in  turn  of 
Indiana,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin  territories.    Fort  Snelling  established, 
1819,  and  settled  by  Swiss  from  Pembina.     St.  Paul  founded  by  Father 
Galtier,  1841.     Organized  as  a  separate  territory,  1849;  admitted  as  a 
state,  1858. 

33.  OREGON.  —  French  name   meaning  wind,  applied  to  the  Rocky 
(Wind  River)  Mountains  and  to  the  Columbia  River.     Coast  visited  by 
Ferrelo,   1543 ;    by   Sir    Francis  Drake,    1578 ;   and   by   Captain  Cook, 
1777.    Mouth  of  the  Columbia  explored  by  Captain  Robert  Gray,  1792. 
Acquired  by  purchase,  treaty,  and  discovery.     Astoria  fur-trading  post 
established,  1811.    Made  a  territory  in  1848,  from  which  Washington  and 
Idaho  were  afterward  set  off;  admitted  as  a  state,  1859  (p.  267). 

34.  KANSAS.  —  Indian   name   meaning  misty  waters.      Area  east  of 
100th  meridian,  a  part  of  Louisiana  Purchase  ;  the  remainder  a  disputed 


30  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

territory  claimed  by  Spain.  Visited  by  Coronado,  and  explored  by  Pike 
and  others.  The  famous  Santa  Fe  trail  extended  from  Independence, 
Missouri,  across  the  state  to  Santa  Fe.  Border  settlements  established  in 
various  places,  1859.  Organized  as  a  territory,  1854;  admitted  as  a  state, 
1861. 

35.  WEST  VIRGINIA.  —  Set  off  from  Virginia  during  the  Civil  War ; 
admitted,  1863. 

36.  NEVADA.  —  Spanish  name  applied  to  the  Sierras,  meaning  snowy 
peaks.     A  part  of  the  California  territory  acquired  as  a  result  of  the 
war  with  Mexico.     Mining  settlement  at  Genoa,  1850.     Made  a  separate 
territory,  1861 ;  admitted  as  a  state,  1864. 

37.  NEBRASKA. — Indian  name  meaning  shallow  water,  applied  to  the 
Platte,  which  has  been  described  as  "  a  mile  wide,  an  inch  deep,  with 
the  bottom  on  top."     Visited  by  Coronado,  1541 ;  part  of  Platte  River 
surveyed  and  mapped  by  Father  Marquette,  1673  ;  held  by  French,  1634- 
1673,  by  British,  1673-1816;  fur-trading  post  at  Bellevue  about  1810; 
Old  Fort  Atkinson  established,  1820;  Mormon  settlement  near  Omaha, 
1846 ;  a  part  of  Louisiana  Territory  until  1805,  of  Missouri  until  1812 ; 
a  separate  territory  from  1854  to  1867 ;  admitted  as  a  state,  1867. 

38.  COLORADO.  —  Spanish  name  meaning  red,  applied  to  the  deep  color 
of  the  water  of  the  Colorado  River.      Explored  in  1776  by  Francisco 
Escalante  in  the  region  of  Gunnison,  by  Zebulon  Pike,  1806-1807,  and 
by  civilized  Cherokees  in  1857.     Area  included  in  Spanish  territory  of 
Mexico  and  also  in  Louisiana  Purchase.    Mission  established  at  Conejos, 
1854 ;   Denver  and  most  of  the  mining  centers  resulted  from  the  dis 
covery  of  gold  near  Pikes  Peak  about   1857-1858.     Made  a  territory, 
1861 ;  admitted  to  the  Union,  1876. 

39.  NORTH  DAKOTA.  —  Indian  name  of  a  Sioux  confederacy.     Lord 
Selkirk's  fur-trading    post   at   Pembina    established,  1810 ;    Lewis   and 
Clark's  winter  camp  at  Mandan  Indian  village,  now  Mandan,  1804-1805  ; 
a  part  of  Louisiana  Purchase ;  Dakota  set  off  from  Minnesota  Territory, 
1849 ;  created  a  territory,  1861 ;  set  off  as  a  separate  body  and  admitted 
as  a  state,  1889. 

40.  SOUTH  DAKOTA.  —  Fur-trading  post  at  Fort  Pierre  about  1830- 
1831,  afterward  a  military  post ;  settlement  at  Sioux  Falls,  1856,  and  at 
Yankton,  1859 ;  other  settlements  exploited  by  Dakota  Land  Company 
about  same  time;  a  part  of  Dakota  Territory;  made  a  state,  1889. 

41.  MONTANA.  —  Name  adapted  from  a  Spanish  word  (derived  from 
Latin  mons,  a  mountain)  meaning  land  of  mountains.     Explored  along 
Missouri  River  by  Verendrye  as  early  as  1745;  a  part  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase;  a  part  of  both  Oregon  and  Idaho  territories;  trading  post  at 


APPENDIX  31 

mouth  of  Big  Horn  River,  1807,  followed  by  others  in  next  twenty  years; 
Fort  Union  built  on  Missouri  River,  1829,  a  steamboat  route  thereto 
being  established  in  1832 ;  Fort  Benton  built,  1846 ;  St.  Mary's  Mission 
established  at  Stevensville,  1845 ;  gold  discovered  about  1861,  and 
Helena  built  at  "  Last  Chance  "  gulch  a  few  years  later;  made  a  separate 
territory,  1864;  admitted  as  a  state,  1889. 

42.  WASHINGTON.  —  Named  in  honor  of  George  Washington.     Strait 
of  Juan  de  Fuca  explored  by  Greek  sailor  of  that  name,  1592.     Spanish 
navigator  Bruno  Heceta  explored  coast  about  seventeen  years  prior  to 
Gray's  discovery  of  the  Columbia  River,  1792.    Vancouver,  in  the  service 
of  Great  Britain,  explored  Puget  Sound  about  1792.     Fur-trading  posts 
established  as  early  as  1811 ;  white  settlement  made  at  Turnwater,  near 
Olympia,  1845,  and  at  Walla  Walla  by  Marcus  Whitman,  1846.     A  part 
of  Oregon  Territory  until  1853 ;    a  separate  territory  until  admitted  as 
a  state  in  1889. 

43.  IDAHO.  —  Indian  name  meaning  approximately  choicest  part  of  the 
mountains.     A  part  of  the  Oregon  country  acquired  by  discovery  and  ex 
ploration  ;  explored  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  1804-1805 ;  Coeur  d'Alene  Mis 
sion  established  by  Father  de  Smet,  1842,  where  gold  was  subsequently 
discovered,  1882 ;  set  off  from  Oregon  and  made  a  separate  territory, 
1863;  admitted  as  a  state,  1890. 

44.  WYOMING.  —  Indian  name  meaning  land  of  open  plains.     Trav 
ersed  by  Verendrye  as  early  as  1743.     Yellowstone  region  discovered  by 
John  Colter,  1807;  explored  later  by  Captain  Bonneville.     Most  of  the 
area  was  included  in   the  Louisiana  Purchase,  the   southwestern  part 
belonging  to  the  Spanish  (Mexican)   possession.      Settlement  at  Fort 
Laramie,  1834,  established  by  fur- trading  company,  became  a  military 
post,  1849 ;  Bozeman  trail  was  an  important  trade  route  as  late  as  1865. 
Made  a  territory  comprising  areas  set  off  from  Utah,  Idaho,  and  Dakota, 
1868 ;  admitted  as  a  state,  1890. . 

45.  UTAH  — Named   after    Ute   Indian    tribe;    uncertain    meaning. 
Mormon    settlement   at   Salt   Lake  City,  founded  by  Brigham  Young, 
184'7      Organized  as  a  territory,  1850;  admitted  as  a  state,  1896. 


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TOPICAL  ANALYSIS  FOR  REVIEW 

A  review  is  most  effective  when,  in  place  of  the  sequence  of  mixed  events, 
the  events  pertaining  to  a  single  phase  of  development  are  studied  in  their 
order.  The  following  topical  analysis  is  arranged  especially  for  review  work  ; 
it  includes  the  subjects  that  have  had  most  to  do  with  the  making  of  Ameri 
can  history. 

EVENTS  OF  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 
Legendary. 

The  voyage  of  Hwui  Shan,  p.  1. 

The  case  of  Jean  Cousin  —  Fiske's  Discovery  of  America,  Vol.  I,  p.  150  ; 
Higginson's  Larger  History  of  America,  p.  24. 

The  Norse  in  America. 

The  colonization  of  Greenland,  p.  2  ;  Discovery  of  America,  Vol.  I,  p.  159. 
Leif  Ericson's  lumber  camp  in  Vinland,  p.  3. 

The  effect  of  the  blockade  of  trade  routes  between  Europe  and  India. 

Location  of  trade  routes,  p.  5. 

Prince  Henry  founds  a  school  of  navigation,  p.  6. 

Vasco  da  Gama  discovers  a  route  around  Africa,  p.  7. 

Columbus  searches  for  a  westward  passage  to  India,  p.  7. 

Discovery  of  the  West  Indies,  p.  10. 

Discovery  of  South  America,  p.  11. 

The  line  of  demarcation,  p.  12. 

Exploration  prompted  by  the  discoveries  of  Columbus. 
The  Cabots  land  on  the  coast  of  North  America,  p.  13. 
Vespucci  and  the  naming  of  the  New  World,  p.  14. 
The  voyage  of  Magellan,  p.  15. 
Balboa  discovers  the  Pacific  Ocean,  p.  14. 

Spanish  discovery  and  exploration. 

The  work  of  Pinzon,   Solis,  Ponce  de  Leon,  Alvarez  de  Pineda,  Cortez, 
Panfilo  de  Narvaez,  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  Fray  Marcos  (Brother  Mark),  p.  16. 
Brother  Mark  and  Coronado  search  for  the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,  p.  17. 
De  Soto  explores  the  lower  Mississippi,  p.  17. 
The  mission  at  Santa  Fd,  p.  17. 

33 


34  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

French  discovery  and  exploration. 

Cartier  explores  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  site  of  Montreal,  p.  106. 

Ribault's  unsuccessful  attempt  to  colonize  Port  Royal,  p.  25. 

Laudonniere  builds  Fort  Caroline  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Johns  River,  p.  25 

Champlain  founds  Quebec,  p.  106. 

Acadia  settled,  p.  107. 

Joliet  and  Marquette  explore  the  upper  Mississippi,  107. 

La  Salle  completes  the  work  of  Joliet  and  Marquette,  p.  108. 

The  work  of  Jesuit  missionaries,  p.  107. 

English  discovery  and  exploration. 

The  Cabots,  John  and  Sebastian,  land  on  the  coast  of  North  America,  p.  1 

Drake  sails  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America,  p.  15. 

Gilbert's  unsuccessful  colony  at  Newfoundland,  p.  26. 

The  work  of  Frobisher,  Davis,  Baffin,  and  Hudson,  p.  16. 

Gosnold  sails  a  new  route  to  America,  p.  27. 

Smith  charts  the  Virginia  coast,  p.  29. 

Other  voyagers  and  their  work. 

Bering  enters  the  strait  that  separates  America  and  Asia,  p.  16. 

Block  explores  the  Massachusetts  coast. 

Franklin  and  others  search  for  a  northwest  passage. 

Recent  endeavors  to  reach  the  north  pole. 

Recent  voyages  to  the  Antarctic  continent. 

THE   PERIOD   OF   COLONIZATION 

Forms  of  colonial  government,  p.  101. 
Virginia. 

Raleigh's  first  attempt  to  found  a  colony,  p.  26. 

Raleigh's  second  attempt  —  Ooatan,  p.  26. 

The  London  company  founds  Jamestown,  p.  29. 

Smith's  leadership,  p.  29. 

The  House  of  Burgesses,  pp.  30,  103. 

Tobacco  cultivation  and  industrial  affairs,  pp.  31,  97. 

Labor  and  social  problems  —  the  redemptioners  —  slavery,  pp.  31,  94-97. 

The  Cavaliers,  p.  33. 

Trade  restrictions  —  the  navigation  laws,  pp.  33,  100. 

Political  affairs  —  government  —  Bacon's  rebellion,  pp.  32,  34. 

Indian  troubles,  pp.  34,  91. 

Maryland. 

Character  of  Lord  Baltimore's  charter,  pp.  35,  104. 
A  colony  for  persecuted  Catholics,  p.  36. 


APPENDIX  35 

The  Toleration  Act,  p.  36. 

Overthrow  of  Catholic  power,  p.  37. 

Political  affairs  —  Claiborne's  rebellion  —  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  pp.  37, 38. 
The  Carolinas. 

First  settlements,  p.  38. 

Political  affairs  —  the  Grand  Model  —  the  division  of  the  colony,  p.  40. 

Tendencies  to  democracy,  p.  40. 

Indian  troubles,  pp.  91,  92. 

Industrial  features,  p.  40. 
Georgia. 

Socially  philanthropic,  politically  a  "buffer"  colony,  p.  41. 

Character  of  settlers  —  various  settlements,  pp.  41,  42. 

Industrial  affairs  —  silk  cultivation,  p.  42. 

Political  affairs  —  warfare  with  Spanish  in  Florida,  p.  42. 

Indian  troubles,  pp.  91,  92. 
New  York. 

Verrazano  enters  New  York  Bay,  p.  45. 

Hudson  explores  New  York  Bay  and  Hudson  River,  p.  46. 

The  Dutch  found  New  Netherlaud,  p.  47. 

The  patroons,  p.  49. 

Stuyvesant's  administration,  p.  50. 

Social  and  industrial  life,  pp.  98,  101. 

Uprising  of  Algonquian  Indians,  p.  88. 

Conflict  over  English  claims,  p.  50. 

Legislative  assembly,  pp.  50,  104. 

New  Netherland  becomes  an  English  colony,  p.  50. 

Comparison  of  the  West  India  Company's  rule  and  English  rule,  pp.  51,  52. 
New  Jersey. 

Governor  Winthrop  and  Governor  Nichols  deceived,  p.  53. 

The  wearisome  task  of  Sir  George  Carteret  —  two  Jerseys  —  Penn's  pur- 
chase,  p.  54. 

The  Jerseys  become  a  royal  province,  p.  54. 

Pennsylvania. 

William  Perm  and  the  Society  of  Friends,  p.  54. 
The  Pennsylvania  grant  and  the  colony,  p.  55. 
The  policy  of  honesty  and  liberality,  p.  56. 
The  industrial  prosperity  of  the  colony,  p.  56. 

Delaware. 

The  Swedes  in  America,  p.  57. 
*  Governor  Stuyvesant's  capture  of  the  region,  p.  57. 

Annexation  to  Pennsylvania,  p.  57. 


36  THE  MAKING    OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

Massachusetts  —  the  Plymouth  Colony. 
Religious  persecution  in  England  —  Catholics,  Puritans,  and  Separatists, 

p.  59. 

Scrooby  Separatists  emigrate  to  Holland,  p.  61. 
The  emigration  from  Holland  to  America,  p.  61. 
The  compact  made  on  the  Mayflower,  p.  62. 
The  industrial  features  of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  p.  63. 
Indian  troubles,  p.  64. 

The  beginnings  of  the  town  meeting,  pp.  64,  103. 
The  Plymouth  Colony  merged  into  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  p.  65. 

Massachusetts  —  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colonies. 

Persecution  of  the  Puritans  and  the  wealth  of  the  fisheries  bring  many 
immigrants  to  Massachusetts,  p.  65. 

The  Gorges-Mason  and  the  Endicott  land  grants,  p.  66. 

Endicott  usurps  the  Gorges-Mason  land  —  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Com 
pany,  pp.  66,  67. 

The  settlement  at  Salem — at  Boston  —  other  villages,  pp.  67,  68. 

The  Puritan  theocracy,  p.  69. 

Social  features — public  schools  —  religious  worship  —  religious  persecution 
—  witchcraft,  pp.  68-72,  94-97. 

Industrial  life — commerce,  pp.  99-100. 

The  fall  of  the  Puritan  theocracy,  p.  72. 

King  Philip's  War,  p.  89. 

The  Massachusetts  charter  annulled,  p.  73. 

Rhode  Island. 

The  heresy  of  Roger  Williams,  p.  73. 

Williams  expelled  from  Massachusetts,  flees  to  Narragansett  Bay,  p.  75. 
The  founding  of  Providence  —  a  "  do-as-you-please  "  settlement,  p.  75. 
A  model  democracy  whose  principles  became  the  law  of  the  land,  p.  75. 
A  royal  province,  p.  75. 

Connecticut  colonies. 

The  outposts  on  the  Connecticut  River,  p.  76. 
The  New  Haven  settlements,  p.  77. 
The  union  of  the  Connecticut  colonies,  p.  78. 
Social  and  religious  features,  pp.  77,  78,  95-97. 
Indian  troubles  —  the  Pequot  War,  p.  87. 

New  Hampshire. 

The  Gorges-Mason  land  grant,  p.  78. 

Settlements  —  Dover,  Portsmouth,  Exeter,  and  Hampton,  p.  79. 
Industrial  features  of  the  Londonderry  settlement,  p.  80. 
Union  with  Massachusetts  and  separation  therefrom,  pp.  79,  80. 


APPENDIX  37 

Maine. 

The  unsuccessful  Popham  colony  on  Kennebec  River,  pp.  28,  81. 
Settlements  at  Pemaquid,  Saco,  and  Biddeford,  p.  81. 
Purchased  from  heirs  of  Gorges  by  Massachusetts,  p.  81. 

The  New  England  Confederacy. 
Reasons  for  the  exclusion  of  Maine  and  Rhode  Island,  p.  82. 

The  Indians. 

Unknown  origin  of,  p.  19. 

Character  of  their  civilization  —  war  the  chief  employment,  p.  20. 

Tribes  and  families  with  whom  the  colonists  dealt,  p.  84. 

Social  position  of  women,  p.  21. 

Tools  and  weapons,  p.  21. 

Iroquois  Confederacy  —  Five  Nations  —  Six  Nations,  pp.  22,  23. 

Hostility  to  white  men  due  to  land  barter,  p.  84. 

Indian  Wars. 

Uprising  of  the  Algonquians,  p.  88. 

The  Pequot  War,  p.  87. 

King  Philip's  War,  p.  89. 

Uprising  of  the  Tuscaroras  and  Yamassees  in  the  South,  p.  91. 

Pontiac's  conspiracy,  p.  92. 

FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WARS 

French  explorations  and  settlements.     (See  p.  34  of  this  analysis.") 
New  France  and  Louisiana,  location  of,  pp.  107-109. 
The  line  of  French  forts,  pp.  108,  109. 
The  colonies  indifferent  to  French  intrusion,  p.  110. 

King  William's  War. 
European  politics,  p.  111. 

Destruction  and  massacre  of  colonial  settlements,  p.  111. 
Capture  of  Port  Royal,  Acadia,  p.  111. 

Queen  Anne's  War. 

Gain  of  Port  Royal,  Acadia,  and  Newfoundland,  p.  111. 
King  George's  War. 

Capture  of  Louisburg,  p.  112. 
The  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  continent. 

Military  and  commercial  gateways,  pp.  113,  114. 

Attitude  of  the  colonies — Albany  Congress,  pp.  114,  177. 


8  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN   NATION 

Governor  Dinwiddie  sends  Washington  to  Fort  Le  Bo3uf,  p.  115= 

The  war  begins  —  plans  of  attack,  p.  116. 

Braddock's  defeat,  p.  116. 

The  campaign  in  Canada,  p.  117. 

The  turning  point  of  the  war  —  Bradstreet  destroys  French  supplies,  p.  118. 

Final  campaign  —  fall  of  Fort  Duquesne,  Louisburg,  Quebec,  p.  119. 

The  French  expelled  from  America,  p.  120. 

The  treaty  of  Paris,  p.  120. 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD 

The  estrangement  of  the  colonies. 
The  king  decides  to  tax  the  colonies,  p.  122. 
The  Stamp  Act,  p.  122. 

The  colonists  refuse  to  pay  taxes  that  are  not  levied  by  themselves,  p.  123, 
The  Stamp  Act  Congress,  p.  125. 
The  Declaration  of  Rights,  p.  126. 
Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  p.  127. 
Declaratory  Act,  p.  128. 

British  troops  quartered  in  the  colonies  —  the  Boston  Riot,  p.  129. 
The  tea  tax  and  the  "  tea  party,"  pp.  130,  131. 
The  Boston  Port  Bill  and  its  effects,  p.  132. 
First  Continental  Congress,  p.  133. 
The  English  view,  p.  135. 

The  revolt  of  the  colonies. 

Royal  government  set  aside  in  Massachusetts,  p.  138. 

The  skirmishes  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  p.  139. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress  assumes  government,  p.  141, 

The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  p.  142. 

Washington  organizes  the  Continental  army,  p.  144. 

Canada  invaded,  p.  144. 

The  British  escape  from  Boston,  p.  145. 

Washington  transfers  his  army  to  New  York,  p.  146. 

Fighting  in  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina,  pp.  146-148, 

Independence  declared  — the  "  United  Colonies,"  p.  150. 

The  war  in  New  York  and  the  Middle  colonies. 

The  Tories,  pp.  148,  152. 

Battle  of  Long  Island  —  the  British  occupy  New  York,  p.  153. 

The  king's  plans  for  carrying  on  the  war,  p.  154. 

Washington's  retreat  through  New  Jersey,  p.  154. 

Trenton  and  Princeton,  p.  156. 


APPENDIX  39 

The  campaign  about  Philadelphia,  p.  157. 

Burgoyne's  invasion  and  surrender,  pp.  158,  159. 

St.  Leger's  fright  and  retreat,  p.  100. 

Why  General  Howe  did  not  go  to  Albany,  p.  100. 

Sullivan  punishes  the  Iroquoians  and  the  Tories,  p.  101. 

Clark  takes  possession  of  the  Northwest,  p.  102. 

The  British  evacuate  Philadelphia  —  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  p.  164. 

Arnold's  treason  —  his  escape  —  the  capture  of  Andre",  pp.  105, 100. 

Effect  of  Arnold's  treason  on  Continental  troops,  p.  107. 

The  war  in  the  South. 

The  king's  revised  plans,  p.  104. 

The  British  advance  —  capture  of  Savannah  and  Charleston,  p.  104. 

New  army  under  Gates  —  battle  of  Camden  —  Gates's  downfall,  p.  105. 

General  Greene  in  command—  Morgan  —  Steuben,  p.  107. 

Cornwallis  lured  from  his  supplies  —  Cowpens  —  Guilford  Courthouse  — 

Eutaw  Springs,  p.  108. 

Cornwallis  penned  in  Yorktown  —  the  coup  of  Washington,  p.  109. 
The  British  leave  the  continent  —  Washington's  farewell,  p.  170. 
The  treaty  of  Paris,  p.  174. 

The  navy  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Continental  Congress  orders  cruisers  —  letters  of  marque,  p.  170. 

John  Barry,  "  merchant-commodore,"  p.  170. 

John  Paul  Jones—  Serapis  and  Bonhomme  Richard,  p.  172. 

Financing  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Continental  currency  —  money  borrowed  from  the  people,  p.  173. 
The  patriotism  and  ability  of  Robert  Morris,  p.  174. 


THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  UNDER  THE  CONSTITUTION 

Colonial  attempts  at  confederation. 
The  New  England  Confederacy,  pp.  81,  177. 
Franklin's  plan  at  the  Albany  Congress,  pp.  114,  177. 
Continental  Congresses,  pp.  133,  141. 

Confederation  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 
The  Articles  of  Confederation,  p.  178. 
The  Congress  of  the  Confederation  and  its  powers,  p.  179. 
Weakness  of  the  Confederation —  financial  —  commercial,  pp.  180,  181. 
Conventions  called  for  revising  the  Articles,  p.  182. 


40  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

* 

The  Federal  Convention. 
Virginia  plan  —  South    Carolina    plan  —  New  Jersey  plan  —  Hamilton's 

plan,  p.  183. 

The  ground  plan  finally  adopted,  p.  184. 
People's  conventions  in  each  state,  p.  184. 
Ratification  by  states,  p.  185. 

The  tariff. 

First  tariff  for  the  support  of  the  government  and  for  the  protection  of  ship 
building,  p.  191. 

Tariff  of  1816,  for  protection  of  manufactures,  p.  252. 

Tariff  of  1824,  to  give  greater  protection  to  manufactures,  p.  254. 

Tariff  of  1828,  for  increased  protection,  creates  bitter  feeling  in  the  South, 
p.  255. 

Tariff  of  1832  lowers  the  rates  at  the  demand  of  Southern  states,  p.  257. 

The  nullification  controversy,  p.  258. 

The  Force  Bill,  p.  259. 

Clay  brings  about  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  tariff,  p.  259. 

Tariff  of  1842,  p.  265. 

Tariff  of  1857,  p.  266. 

Tariff  revision  of  1890,  p.  367. 

Tariff  revision  of  1894,  p.  369. 

Slavery. 

Slaves  sold  in  Virginia  —  first  slave  ship  in  America,  p.  31. 
The  redemptioners,  p.  31. 
The  slave-holding  law  of  Massachusetts,  p.  69. 
First  fugitive-slave  law,  p.  198. 

Effects  of  cotton  growing  on  the  distribution  of  slaves,  p.  234. 
The  balance  between  slave  states  and  free  states,  p.  250. 
The  Missouri  Compromise,  p.  251. 
Slavery  in  Illinois,  p.  270. 
The  Gag  Rule,  p.  271. 

Texas  encouraged  to  secede  from  Mexico,  p.  272. 
Slavery  abolished  and  forbidden  in  Mexico,  p.  272. 
Possible  effects  of  admission  of  Texas  on  slavery,  p.  274. 
The  Wilmot  Proviso,  p.  276. 
The  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty,  p.  283. 
Why  the  South  opposed  the  admission  of  California,  p.  283. 
Slavery  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  p.  284. 
The  Omnibus  Bill,  p.  283. 
The  Fugitive-Slave  Law  of  1850,  p.  285. 
The  slave  struggle  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  p.  288. 
John  Brown,  pp.  288,  291. 


APPENDIX  41 

The  Dred  Scott  decision,  p.  289. 

The  slavery  question  grows  very  bitter,  p.  290. 

Northern  and  Southern  views  of  the  question,  p.  299. 

The  "underground  railway,"  301. 

Lincoln's  attitude  toward  slavery,  306. 

Lincoln's  emancipation  of  slaves,  p.  322. 

Slavery  abolished  by  constitutional  amendment,  p.  323, 

THE   CIVIL    WAR 

Causes  leading  to  the  Civil  War. 
Southern  view  of  slavery,  p.  299. 
Northern  view  of  slavery,  p.  300. 
Fugitive-slave  laws,  pp.  198,  284. 
The  tariff  question,  p.  300. 
The  question  of  state  rights,  p.  300. 
The  question  of  railway  communication,  p.  301. 
The  secession  of  the  Southern  states,  pp.  301 ,  303. 
Formation  of  the  Confederate  government,  p.  303. 
Efforts  toward  compromise,  pp.  304,  306. 

Beginning  of  the  conflict  —  First  year  of  the  war. 

Seizure  of  forts,  arsenals,  and  military  supplies  by  Confederates,  p,  305. 

The  Confederates  capture  Fort  Sumter,  p.  307. 

Both  sides  call  to  arms  — first  bloodshed,  p.  308. 

The  Confederates  driven  from  West  Virginia,  p.  309. 

The  movement  of  Federal  troops  toward  Richmond  —  battle  of  Bull  Run, 

p.  309. 
Operations  in   Missouri   and   Kentucky  —  Missouri   kept  in    the  Union, 

p.  311. 

Operations  against  the  coast  —  capture  of  Port  Royal,  p.  311. 
The  Trent  affair,  p.  312. 

The  campaign  in  the  West  —  Opening  the  Mississippi.     (January  to  May, 
1862.) 

Tennessee  opened  —  Mill  Springs,   Fort   Henry,    Fort  Donelson,   Shiloh, 

Island  Number  Ten,  Memphis,  pp.  313-316. 
Pushing  the  fighting  line  southward,  p.  316. 

General  Bragg  breaks  through  the  line  —  Perryville,  Murfreesboro,  p.  316. 
The  Confederates  again   attempt  to  break  the  line  —  Corinth  and  luka, 

p.  316. 

Operations  in  Arkansas  —  Pea  Ridge,  p.  316. 
Commodore  Farragutand  General  Butler  open  the  lower  Mississippi  —  New 

Orleans  captured,  p.  316. 


42  THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 

The  war  in  the  East.     (January,  1802,  to  July,  1863.) 
Plans  of  operation,  p.  317. 
General  McClellan's  peninsular  campaign  —  operations  on  York  peninsula 

—  Federal  troops  in  sight  of  Richmond  —  Fair  Oaks,  p.  319. 
General  Jackson  raids  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  thereby  calling  back  reen- 

forcements  for  McClellan,  p.  320. 
General  Lee  and  the  Seven  Days'  Battles,  p.  320. 
General  Lee  invades  the  North  —  second  battle  of  Bull.  Hun — Antietam, 

p.  321. 

General  Lee  again  invades  the  North  — Chancellorsville,  p.  323. 
Lee  is  driven  back  at  Gettysburg  with  heavy  losses,  p.  323. 

Opening  the  middle  stretch  of  the  Mississippi  River.    (January  to  July,  1863. ) 
Plans  of  Generals  Grant  and  Sherman  and  Admiral  Porter  to  capture 

Vicksburg,  p.  325. 

Loss  of  supplies  at  Holly  Springs,  p.  325. 
General  Sherman  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  p.  325. 
Amateur  generals'  plans  for  the  capture  of  Vicksburg,  p.  326. 
Grant  and  Sherman  attack  the  city  from  the  west  —  fall  of  Vicksburg, 

p.  327. 
General  Banks  captures  Port  Hudson  —  the  entire  river  open,  p.  328. 

The  campaign  in  Tennessee  and  Georgia.     (July,  1863,  to  July,  1864.) 
Chattanooga  the  key  to  the  military  situation,  p.  328. 
General   Rosecranz  forces  his  way  toward  Chattanooga  —  Chickamauga, 

p.  329. 
The   capture   of   Chattanooga  —  Missionary   Ridge  —  Lookout  Mountain, 

p.  329. 
Capture   of   Atlanta  —  Dalton —  Resaca  —  Dallas  —  Kenesaw    Mountain, 

p.  330. 

General  Sherman  marches  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah,  p.  330. 
General  Thomas  destroys  Hood's  army  at  Nashville,  p.  331. 

The  closing  campaign  in  the  East.     (May,  1864,  to  April,  1865.) 
General  Grant  moves  south  into  the  Wilderness,  p.  331. 
Grant  and  Lee  at  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  and  Petersburg,  p.  332. 
General  Early  raids  the  Shenandoah,  p.  332. 

Early  and  Sheridan  at  Cedar  Creek,  Fishers  Hill,  and  Winchester,  p.  333. 
Grant  closes  in  upon  Lee  at  Petersburg,  p.  333. 
General  Lee  evacuates  Petersburg,  and  surrenders  at  Appomattox,  p.  335. 

Naval  work  of  the  war. 
The  blockading  of  the  Southern  coast,  p.  336. 
Blockade  runners,  p.  336. 


APPENDIX  43 

Confederate  commerce  destroyers  —  the   Swn/iter,  Alabama,  Shenandoah, 

and  Florida,  p.  337. 
The  origin  of  the  ironclad,  p.  339. 
The  duel  between  the  Virginia  and  the  Monitor,  p.  340. 

Financing  the  war. 

The  cost  of  four  years  of  fighting,  p.  342. 
Bond  issues,  p.  343. 
Notes  and  currency,  p.  343. 
Internal  revenue  taxes,  p.  344. 
National  banks  chartered,  p.  344. 
Finances  of  the  Confederate  states,  p.  344, 

Reconstruction. 

President  Lincoln's  plan,  p.  345. 
The  plan  of  the  Congress,  p.  346. 

President  Johnson  attempts  to  carry  out  a  plan  of  reconstruction,  p.  348. 
The  Congress  refuses  to  adopt  Johnson's  plan,  p.  349. 
The  quarrel  between  the  President  and  the  Congress,  p.  349. 
Reconstruction  policy  of  the  Congress,  p.  349. 

The  Tenure  of  Office  Bill  and  the  impeachment  of  the  President,  p.  350. 
Disfranchisement  of  Southern  officers  leads  to  carpet-bag  rule,  p.  350. 
The  Amnesty  Proclamation,  p.  352. 

The  foregoing  analyses  represent  the  more  difficult  subjects  of  American 
history ;  they  may  be  amplified  at  the  discretion  of  the  teacher.  The  topicali- 
zation  of  other  events  will  be  necessary,  but  these  analyses  may  be  prepared 
by  the  teacher  or  by  the  pupils  themselves  under  the  teacher's  direction.  In 
making  the  analyses  it  is  necessary  only  to  look  over  the  pages  of  the  book, 
noting  the  events  in  their  order.  For  this  work  the  teacher  may  dictate 
various  subjects  ;  the  following  are  suggested  :  — 

Treaties  of  the  United  States. 

Territorial  acquisitions  of  the  United  States. 

Political  parties  and  their  platforms. 

Industrial  inventions  and  their  effect. 

Growth  and  development  of  railroads. 

International  events  that  have  led  to  congressional  enactments. 

Methods  of  transportation  and  their  development. 

Events  involving  American  Indians. 

A  chronology  of  events  in  connection  with  each  administration. 


A  LIST  OF  REFERENCE  BOOKS 


GENERAL  REFERENCE 


Bancroft's  History  of  the   United 

States. 
Higginson's  Larger  History  of  the 

United  States. 
Hildreth's  United  States. 
Scribner's  American  History  Series. 
Winsor's    Narrative    and     Critical 

History  of  America. 
Lossing's  (Harper's)  Cyclopedia  of 

United  States  History. 
Smith's  (Goldwin)  United  States. 


McMaster's  History  of  the  People 

of  the  United  States. 
Schouler's   History   of  the   United 

States. 

Rhodes's  United  States. 
Hart's  Epochs  of  American  History. 
Andrews's    History  of     Our    Own 

Times. 

Hart's  Source  Readers  in  History. 
Scudder's  American  Commonwealth. 
Forman's  Advanced  Civics. 


GEOGRAPHICAL 


Fiske's  Discovery  of  America. 

Shaler's  The  United  States. 

Scaife's  Geographic  History  of 
America. 

Redway's  First  Landfall  of  Colum 
bus. 

Parkman's  (Francis)  The  Oregon 
Trail. 

Hakluyt's  Divers  Voyages. 

Gannett's  Boundaries  of  the  States 
and  the  United  States. 


MacCoun's  Historical  Geography  01 

the  United  States. 
Markham's  Sea  Fathers. 
Lewis  and  Clarke's  Expedition. 
Schoolcraft's  Narrative. 
Whitney's  United  States. 
Roosevelt's  Winning  of  the  West. 
Hinsdale's  Old  Northwest. 
Irving's  Columbus. 
Statesman's  Year  Book. 


COLONIAL  PERIOD 


Fiske's  Beginnings  of  New  Eng 
land. 

Fiske's  New  France  and  New  Eng 
land. 

Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her 
Neighbors, 


Fiske's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies. 
Palfrey's  New  England. 
Lodge's  English  Colonies. 
Parkman's  Wolfe  and  Montcalm. 
Adams's    The     Emancipation     of 
Massachusetts. 


44 


APPENDIX 


45 


REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD 


Lecky's  American  Revolution. 
Fiske's  The  American  Revolution. 
Winsor's  Handbook  of  the  Revolu 


tion. 


Lossing's  (Harper's)  Cyclopedia  of 

United  States  History. 
Lodge's  American  Revolution. 


Scudder's   America 
Years  Ago. 


One    Hundred 


CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY 


Fiske's  Critical  Period  of  American 

History. 
Story's  Constitution  of  the  United 

States. 

Curtis's  History  of  the  Constitution. 
Bryce's  American  Commonwealth. 


Con- 


Wilson's  The  State. 
Elaine's    Twenty    Years    in 

gress. 

Johnson's  American  Politics. 
Holl's    Peace    Conference    at    The 

Hague. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR 


Comte    de    Paris's    Civil    War    in 

America. 

Greeley's  The  American  Conflict. 
Fiske's   The  Mississippi  Valley  in 

the  Civil  War. 
Draper's  Civil  War. 
Dana's   Recollections   of  the   Civil 

War. 
Ropes's  Civil  War. 


Stephens's  (Alexander)  War  be 
tween  the  States. 

Davis's  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Con 
federate  Government. 

Grant's  Personal  Memoirs. 

McClellan's  Own  Story. 

Sherman's  Memoirs. 

Cooke's  Life  of  Robert  E.  Lee. 

Cooke's  Life  of  "  Stonewall "  Jack 
son. 


Shaler's  The  United  States. 
Adams's  (Brooks)  New  Empire. 
Wright's    Industrial    Evolution 
the  United  States. 


INDUSTRIAL 

Monograph    Bureau    of    American 


of 


Republics. 

Consular  Reports. 

Publications  of  Department  of  Com 
merce. 


JUVENILE 


Abbot's  Battlefield  of  '61. 
Abbot's  Blue  Jackets  of  '61. 
Coffin's  Redeeming  the  Republic. 
Coffin's  Drumbeat  of  the  Nation. 


Coffin's  The  Story  of  Liberty. 

Brumbaugh  and  Walton's  Stories 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Chandler's  Makers  of  Virginia  His 
tory. 


A  PRONOUNCING  LIST  OF  PROPER  NAMES 


KEY  TO   DIACRITICAL   MARKS 


a  as  a  in  fat. 
a  as  a  in  fate. 
a  as  a  in  far. 
a  as  a  in  sofa. 
£  as  a  in  fall. 
a  as  a  in  fare. 

e  as  e  in  met. 
e  as  e  in  meet. 
e  as  e  in  her. 
e  as  e  in  prudent. 

i  as  i  in  pin. 
1  as  i  in  .pine. 

Aguinaldo,  a/ge-nal-do. 
Alamo,  a'la-mo. 
Aleut,  al'e-ot. 
Algonquian,  al-gon'ki-an. 
Amu  Darya,  a-mo'  dar'ya. 
Antietam,  an-te'tam. 
Appomatox,  ap-o-mat'oks. 
Azores,  a-zorz'. 

Beauregard,  bo're-gard. 

Bessemer,  bes'e-mer. 

Bienville,  byan-vel'. 

Biloxi,  bi-lok'si. 

Bonhomme  Richard,  bo-nom'  re-shar'. 

Bonneville,  bon'vil. 

Breton  (Cape),  brit'on  or  bret'on. 

Buell,  bu'el. 

Buena  Vista,  bwa'ua  ves'ta. 

Burgoyne,  ber-goin'. 


o  as  o  in  not. 
o  as  o  in  note. 
o  as  o  in  move. 
o  as  o  in  idiot. 
6  as  o  in  song. 

u  as  u  in  tub. 

u  as  u  in  mute. 

ii  as  French  u,  German  u. 

h  as  French  nasal  w,  in  en,  ton. 
fh  as  th  in  then. 


Cabeza  de  Vaca,  ka-ba'tha  da  va'ka. 

Cabral,  ka-bral'. 

Canonicus,  ka-non'i-kus. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  zhak  kar-tya'. 

Catawba,  ka-ta'ba. 

Cavite,  ka-ve-ta'. 

Cayuga,  ka-yo'ga. 

Cerro  Gordo,  ser'ro  gor'do. 

Cervera,  thar-va'ra. 

Chapultepec,  cha-pol-te-pek7. 

Chattanooga,  chat-a-no'ga. 

Cherbourg,  sher'berg. 

Chicasa,  chik'a-sa. 

Chickamauga,  chick-a-ma'ga. 

Chickasaw  Bayou,  chik'a-sa  bi'o. 

Chippewa,  chip'e-wa. 

Chowan,  cho-wan'. 

Cibola,  se'bo-la. 

Colon,  kO-16n'. 


APPENDIX 


47 


Contreras,  kon-tr5/ras. 
Cousin,  Jean,  zhori  ko-zan'. 
Croghan,  kro'gan. 
Cunard,  ku-nard'. 

* 

Dalles,  dalz. 
Decatur,  de-ka/ter. 
Dias,  de'as. 
Dieppe,  de-ep'. 
Duquesne,  dii-kan'. 

Eads,  edz. 

El  Caney,  el  ka/na. 

Espagnola,  es-pan-y5'la. 

Ferrar,  fer'ar. 

Erelinghuysen,  fre'ling-hu-zen. 
Fusang,  fo'sang. 

Gansevoort,  gans'vort. 

Genet,  zhe-na'. 

Gila,  he'la. 

Gorges,  gCr'jez. 

Gourges,  gorg. 

Guadalquiver,  g§,-dal-kuiv'er. 

Guadalupe  Hidalgo,   gwa-fha-16'pa 

e-dal'go. 
Guam,  gwam. 
Guanahani,  gwa-na-a-ne'. 
Guerriere,  gar-ryar. 
Guiana,  ge-a'na. 
Gunnbyorn,  gon'byorn. 

Harve  de  Grace,  a/vr-de-graV. 
Hawaii,  ha-wi'e. 
Hawaiian,  ha-wl'yan. 
Herjulf,  her-olf  . 
Hindu  Rush,  hin'do  kosh. 
Honolulu,  ho-no-lo'16. 
Houston,  hus'ton  or  hous'ton. 
Hwui  Shan,  hwe  shan. 

Troquoian,  ir-o-kwoi'an. 
luka,  !-u'ka. 


Jalapa,  ha-la'pa. 

Joliet,  zho-lya'. 

Juan  de  Fuca,  jo'an  da  fu'ka. 

Kameharneha,  ka-ma'ha-ma'ha. 
Kankakee,  kang-ka-ke'. 
Kaskaskia,  kas-kas'ki-a. 
Kearney,  kar'ni. 
Kearsarge,  ker'sarj. 
Kenesaw,  ken-e-sS,'. 

Ladrone,  la-dron'. 

Laudonni^re,  lo-do-nyar'. 

Le  Boeuf,  le-bef . 

Ley  den,  It'den. 

Liliuokalani,  le-le-wo-ka-la'ne. 

Lopez,  lo'path. 

Luzon,  lo-zon'. 

Magruder,  ma-gro'der. 
Malvern,  mal'vern. 
Manassas,  ma-nas'as. 
Mankato,  man-ka'to. 
Marquette,  mar-ket'. 
Massasoit,  mas'a-soit. 
Matainoros,  mat-a-m5'ros. 
Mauch  Chunk,  mak  chungk. 
McCullough,  ma-kul'pk. 
McDonough,  mak-don'o. 
Meigs,  megz. 
Menendez,  ma-nan'dath. 
Mesilla,  ma-sel'ya. 
Miquelon,  mek-loh'. 
Modoc,  mo'dok. 
Mohegan,  mo-he'gan. 
Molino  del  Key,  mo-le'n5  del  ra'. 
Moluccas,  mo-luk'az. 
Monterey,  mon-ta-ra'. 
Montezuma,  mon-te-zo'ma. 
Moultrie,  mol'tri. 
Murfreesboro,  mer'frez-bur-o. 
Muskhogean,  musk-ho'gp-an. 


48 


THE  MAKING   OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION 


Narvaez,  nar-va-eth'. 
Nina,  nen'ya. 
Nipmuck,  nip'muk. 
Nueces,  nwa'ses. 

Oneida,  o-ni'da. 
Onondaga,  on-on-da'ga.. 
Oriskany,  o-ris  ka-ni. 

Palo  Alto,  pa'lo  al-to. 

Pequot,  pe'kwot. 

Perote,  pa-ro'ta. 

Pineda,   Alvarez    de,    Al'va-reth   da 

Pin-a'fha. 
Pinzon,  pen-thon'. 
Pitcairn,  pit-karn'. 
Powhatan,  pow-ha-tan'. 
Presque  Isle,  pres  kel. 
Puebla,  pweb'la. 

Resaca  de  la  Palma,   ra-sa'ka  da  la 

pal'ma. 

Ribault,  re-bo'. 

Rio  de  la  Plata,  re'o  da  la  pla'ta. 
Rio  Grande,  re'o  grand. 

Samana,  sa-ma-na'. 

San  Antonio,  san  an-to'ni-o. 

Sanchez,  Alonzo,  al-on' so  san;cheth. 

San  Jacinto,  san  ja-sin'to. 

San  Juan,  san  hwan'. 

San  Salvador,  san  sal-va-fhor'. 

Santa  F6,  san'ta  fa. 

Santa  Maria,  san'ta  ma-rg  a. 

Schley,  shla. 

Schuyler,  ski'ler. 

Seminole,  sem'i-n5l. 

Semmes,  semz. 

Seneca,  sen'e-ka. 


Serapis,  se-ra'pis. 
Sigel,  se'gel. 
Siouan,  so'an. 
Sioux,  so. 
Slidell,  sli-del'. 

Spottsylvania,  spot-sil-va'ni-a. 
Staunton,  stan'ton. 
Steuben,  stu'ben. 
Stuyvesant,  sti've-sant. 
Surinam,  so-ri-nam'. 

Ticonderoga,  ti-kon-de-ro'ga. 
Toscanelli,  tos-ka-nel'le. 
Tremont,  tre-mont'. 
Tuscarora,  tus-ka-ro'ra. 
Tutelo,  to-ta'lo. 

Valladolid,  val-ya-fho-lefh'. 
Van  Rensselaer,  van  ren'se-ler. 
Vasco  da  Gama,  vas'ko  da  ga'ma. 
Venezuela,  ven-e-zwe'la. 
Vera  Cruz,  ve'ra  kroz. 
Vergennes,  ver-jenz'. 
Verrazano,  ver-rat-sa'no. 
Vespucci,  ves-po'che. 

Waldseemuller,  valt'za-mlil-ler. 
Wampanoag,  wam-pa-no'ag. 
Weyler,  wa'ler. 
Woccon,  wok'on. 

Yamassee,  yam'a-se. 
Yazoo,  ya'zo. 

Zipango,  si-pang'go. 
Zollicoffer,  zol'i-kof-er. 
Zuni,  zo'nye. 
Zuyder  Zee,  zi'der  ze. 


INDEX 


Acadia,  107. 

Adams,  John,  190, 198,  202. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  255,  271. 

Alabama  admitted,  249. 

Alabama,  the,  338. 

Alaska,  purchase  of,  356. 

Alhany,  founded,  48;  plan,  114,  177. 

Albemarle,  the,  342. 

Algerine  piracy  punished,  227. 

Algonquiau  uprising,  88. 

Alien  Law,  203. 

America,  naming  of,  14. 

American  Desert,  280. 

Amnesty  proclamations,  340,  352. 

Anderson,  Major  Robert,  307. 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  52,  73,  75,  102. 

Annapolis  convention,  182. 

Antietam,"  battle  of,  321. 

Anti-federalist  party,  195. 

Antislavery  sentiment,  growth  of,  271. 

Anti-trust  legislation,  391. 

Appomattox,  Lee  surrenders  at,  335. 

Arid  lands,  415. 

Arkansas  admitted,  2(54. 

Army,  organization  of,  308. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  144,  158;  treason  of, 

165. 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  363. 
Articles  of  Confederation,  178,  183. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  211. 
Atlanta,  operations  at,  330. 
Atlantic  cable,  294. 
Averysboro,  skirmish  at,  334. 

Bacon,  Nathaniel,  34. 
Baffin,  William,  voyage  of,  16. 
Baker,  Colonel,  311. 
Balboa  discovers  Pacific  Ocean,  14. 
Balls  Bluff,  skirmish  at,  311. 
Baltimore,  Lord,  35,  37. 
Bank,  National  Act,  344 ;  United  States, 
194,  230,  261 ;  wildcat,  344. 


Barry,  Commodore  John,  170. 

Bayonne,  48. 

Beauregard,  General  P.  G.  T.,  307,  308. 

Bennington,  battle  of,  158. 

Bentonville,  skirmish  at,  334. 

Bering,  Veit,  voyage  of,  16. 

Berkeley,  Sir  William,  32. 

Bill  of  Rights,  134. 

Elaine,  James  G.,  364. 

Bland-Allison  Act,  384. 

Blockade,  of  1812,   225;    of  1861,  336; 

paper,  220 ;  runners,  336. 
Blockhouse  forts,  110. 
Blue  laws  of  Connecticut,  78. 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  203,  214,  217. 
Bonds,  Confederate,  345;  United  States, 

343. 
Boston,  fire,  359;  origin  of  name,  68; 

Port  Bill,  132 ;  settlement  of,  67. 
Boundary,  British-American,  226,  360; 

Louisiana,  247  ;  Oregon,  267. 
Braddock's  defeat,  116. 
Bradford,  William,  63,  66. 
Bradstreet,  Colonel  John,  118. 
Bragg,  General  Braxton,  316,  329. 
Brandywine  Creek,  157. 
Brazil  discovered,  8,  13. 
Breckenridge,  John  C.,  292. 
Brewster,  William,  61. 
British  troops  in  America,  129, 
Brooklyn  founded,  48. 
Brooklyn  Heights,  152. 
Brown,  B.  Gratz,  360. 
Brown,  John,  291. 
Bryan,  William  J.,  371. 
Buckner,  General,  314. 
Buell,  General  D.  C.,  316. 
Bull  Run,  battle  of,  309;  second  battle 

of,  321. 

Bunker  Hill,  142. 
Burgoyne,  General  John,  158   159. 
Burnside,  General  A.  E.,  321 


49 


•50 


INDEX 


Burr,  Aaron,  213. 

Butler,  General  B.  F.,  311,  317. 

Cabot,  voyages  of,  12. 

Cabral  blown  across  the  Atlantic,  8,  13. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  218,  255. 

California,  277,  278,  280,  282,  285. 

Calvert,  Cecil,  36 ;  George,  35. 

Camden,  battle  of,  165. 

Canada,  invasion  of,  144. 

Canal,  Delaware  and  Hudson,  243;  Erie, 
241,  295;  Nicaragua,  281;  Panama, 
415 ;  Pennsylvania,  242. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  rounded,  7. 

Carpet-bag  rule,  350. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  in  Canada,  106. 

Caswell,  Richard,  147. 

Cass,  Lewis,  281. 

Catholics  in  Maryland,  37. 

Cavaliers,  33. 

Cedar  Creek,  battle  of,  333. 

Chadds  Ford,  battle  of,  157. 

Chambersburg  destroyed,  332. 

Champlain,  Samuel,  106. 

Chancellorsville,  battle  of,  323. 

Charleston,  founded,  39;  attacked  by 
British,  147 ;  captured  by  British,  164. 

Chattanooga,  battle  of,  329. 

Cherry  Valley  massacre,  161. 

Chesapeake  affair,  216. 

Chicago,  fire,  359;  site  of,  109. 

Chickamauga,  battle  of,  329. 

Chinese,  Exclusion  Act,  372;  uprising, 
372. 

Chippewa,  battle  of,  224. 

Christiansen,  Hendrick,  47. 

Civil  Rights  Bill,  349. 

Civil  Service  Reform,  261,  363. 

Civil  War,  beginning  of,  299. 

Claiborne,  William,  37. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  162,  187;  Lieu 
tenant  William,  210. 

Clay,  Henry,  218,  252,  259,  284. 

Clearing  House,  389. 

Clermont,  the,  240. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  364,  407. 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  147. 

Coal  mining,  early,  244. 

Coinage,  ratio  of  gold  to  silver,  195. 

Cold  Harbor,  battle  of,  332. 

Colonial  government,  forms  of,  101. 

Colorado  admitted,  362. 


Columbia  River  explored,  210. 

Columbian  Exposition,  369. 

Columbus,  burial  place  of,  12  ;  vessels 
of,  9  ;  voyages  of,  7,  10,  11. 

Commerce  destroyers,  Confederate,  337. 

Compromise  Bill  of  1850,  284. 

Comstock  lode,  355. 

Concord,  skirmish  at,  139. 

Conditions  of  living  in  1840,  293. 

Confederacy,  beginning  of,  303. 

Congress,  Albany,  177 ;  Continental,  133, 
141,  178;  of  Confederation,  179. 

Congress,  the,  340. 

Connecticut,  colonies  united,78 ;  founded, 
76. 

Constitution,  adoption  of,  186;  amend 
ments  to,  192,  207,  323,  349,  352; 
making  of,  184 ;  various  plans  of,  183. 

Continental  Congress,  First,  133;  Sec 
ond,  141. 

Convention,  Annapolis,  182;  Federal, 
183;  Hartford,  225. 

Conway  Cabal,  167. 

Cooke,  Jay,  383. 

Cooper,  Peter,  243. 

C.orinth,  battle  of,  316. 

Cornwallis,  General,  154,  156,  165,  168; 
surrender  of,  169. 

Coronado,  Francisco,  explores  Colo 
rado,  16,  17. 

Cortez,  Hernando,  invades  Mexico,  16. 

Cotton,  cultivation,  233;  gin,  233;  manu 
facture,  236,  381. 

Courts,  federal,  192. 

Cowpens,  battle  of,  168. 

Crittenden  Compromise,  304. 

Croatan,  27. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  33. 

Cuba,  American  trade  in,  398;  annex 
ation  of,  286,  292,  395 ;  civil  war  in, 
399 ;  independence  of,  398. 

Culpeper,  John,  40. 

Cumberland,  the,  340. 

Cumberland,  Gap,  113;  Road,  212. 

Currency,  Continental,  173;  issued  by 
states,  180;  of  United  States,  343. 

Cushing,  William  Barker,  342. 

Custer,  General  George  A.,  359. 

Dale,  Sir  Thomas,  30. 
Dallas,  battle  of,  330. 
Davenport,  Rev.  John,  77. 


INDEX 


51 


Davis,  Jefferson,  335. 

Debt,  public,  192. 

Debtor's  prisons,  41. 

Declaration     of,    Independence,     149  ; 

Rights,  126. 
Declaratory  Act,  128. 
De  Kalb,  Baron,  157,  1(55. 
Delaware,  Lord,  30. 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal,  243. 
Delaware  founded,  57. 
Democracy  in  America,  238. 
Democratic  party,  origin  of,  255. 
Denver,  355. 

Department  of  Commerce,  414. 
Detroit  surrendered,  220. 
Dewey,  Admiral  George  H.,  400,  401. 
Dias,  Bartholomew,  voyage  of,  7. 
Dinwiddie,  Governor,  115. 
Dongan,  Thomas,  52,  104. 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  287,  292,  304. 
Draft  riots,  328. 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  voyage  of,  15. 
Dred  Scott  case,  289,  292. 

Eads,  Captain  James  B.,  314. 

Early,  General  Jubal,  332. 

Eleanor  Dare,  26. 

Electoral  Commission,  361. 

Electrical  inventions,  293,  382. 

Elkins  Rebate  Act,  392. 

Embargo  Act,  216. 

Emigration  to  the  West,  232,  237. 

Endicott,  John,  66. 

Eratosthenes  computes    dimensions  of 

earth,  7. 

Eric  the  Red,  voyage  of,  2, 
Ericson,  Leif,  3. 
Ericsson,  John,  340. 
Erie  Canal,  241. 
European  trade  with  India,  4. 
Eutaw  Springs,  battle  of,  168. 

Farragut,  Commodore  D.  G.,  317. 
Federalist  party,  195. 
Field,  Cyrus,  294. 
Fifteenth  Amendment,  352. 
Fifty-four-forty  controversy,  267. 
Fillmore,  Millard,  283. 
Finances  of  Revolution,  172. 
Financial  panic,  383,  387. 
Fisheries,  99;  dispute,  360. 
Fishers  Hill,  battle  of,  333. 


Fitch,  John,  builds  steam  packet,  240. 

Five  Nations,  23. 

Flag,  Commodore  Barry's,  170;  national, 

163;  rattlesnake,  170. 
Florida,   accession    of,   246;    admitted, 

266. 

Florida,  the,  338. 
Foote,  Commodore,  314,  316. 
Fort,  Carolina,  25;   Crown  Point,  113, 
*     117,  144;  Donelson,  313;   Duquesne, 

115,  119;   Edward,   117;   Frontenac, 

117;  Henry,  313;  Le  Bceuf,  113,  115; 

Lee,   152;   Meigs,   221;   Nassau,  47; 

Necessity,  116 ;  Orange,  48;  Oswego, 

117 ;  Sumter,  306,  342 ;  Ticonderoga, 

113,  145;  Washington,  154;  William 

Henry,  117. 

Fourteenth  Amendment,  349. 
France  aids  Americans,  163;  interferes 

with  American  commerce,  214. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  123,  141,  172,  177. 
Fredericksburg,  battle  of,  321. 
Free  silver  party,  371,  388. 
Free-Soil  party,  276,  281. 
Fre'mont,  John  C.,  280,  347. 
French,  expelled    from   America,   120; 

posts  in  America,  109;    Revolution, 

198. 

French  town,  battle  of,  220. 
Frobisher,  Martin,  voyage  of,  16. 
Fugitive-slave  laws,  198,  284,  285. 
Fulton,  Robert,  builds  Clermont,  240. 
Fusang,  location  of,  2. 

Gadsden  purchase,  287. 
G:ig  rule,  the,  271. 
Gage,  General,  138,  139,  142. 
Gama,  Vasco  da,  7. 
Garfield,  James  A,  363. 
Gates,  General,  159,  165,  167. 
Gateways  of  Appalachians,  113. 
Genet  affair,  199. 
Geneva  award,  360. 

Georgia,  founding  of,  41;  silk  cultiva 
tion,  42;  trade  restrictions  in,  42. 
Germantown,  battle  of,  157. 
Gettysburg,  battle  of,  324. 
Glover's  fishermen,  154. 
Gold  discoveries,  282,  355 ;  reserve,  386. 
Gorges,  Ferdinando,  66,  78,  79. 
Gourges,  Dominique  de,  25. 
Grand  model,  the,  40. 


52 


INDEX 


Grant,  General  U.  S.,  314,  325,  326,  327, 

333 ;  President,  358. 
Great  Britain  interferes  with  American 

commerce,  215. 
Greeley,  Horace,  360. 
Greenbacks,  issues  of,  343. 
Greene,  General  Nathanael,  167. 
Greenland  discovered,  2. 
Guilford  Courthouse,  168. 
Guimbjorn,  voyage  of,  2. 

Hague  Tribunal,  416. 

Haiti  discovered,  10. 

Halleck,  General,  319. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  191,  194. 

Hampton  Roads,  333,  340. 

Hancock,  John,  140. 

Hancock,  General  Winfield  S.,  363. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  366. 

Harrison,  General  William  Henry,  218, 

221,  223,  262,  264. 
Haverhill  massacre,  111. 
Hawaii,  370,  406. 
Hay,  John,  417. 
Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  361. 
Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  256. 
Hendricks,  Thomas  A.,  361. 
Henry  affair,  219. 
Herodotus  quoted,  14. 
Hessian  mercenaries,  156. 
Hobson,  Captain  Richmond  P.,  402. 
Holly  Springs  raided,  325. 
Hood,  General,  330. 
Hooker,  General  Joseph,  329. 
House  of  Burgesses,  30,  104,  124. 
Howe,  General,  145,  153,  157,  161. 
Hudson,  Henry,  16,  46. 
Huguenot,  25,  39. 
Hull,  General,  220. 
Hutchinson,  Anne,  70,  75,  89. 
Hwui  Shan,  voyage  of,  1. 

Idaho  admitted,  368. 

Illinois,  admitted,  249;  Territory,  228. 

Impressment  of  seamen,  220. 

Independent  treasury,  263. 

Indian,  civilization,  20;  confederations, 

22 ;    lands,    how   acquired,    48,   85 ; 

tribes  in  America,  19,  84. 
Indian    wars,    Algonquian,    88;     King 

Philip's,  89;  Modoc,  358;  Pequot,  87; 


Pontiac's,  92 ;  Sioux,  359 ;  Tusca- 
rora,  91  ;  Yamassee,  92. 

Indiana  admitted,  249;  Territory,  228. 

Indigo,  cultivation  of,  40. 

Industries,  colonial,  97  ;  geographic  dis 
tribution  of,  374. 

Inflation  Act,  384. 

International  Peace  Conference,  416. 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  392. 

Invasion  of  Mexico,  276. 

Iowa,  283. 

Ironclad  gunboats,  314,  339. 

Iroquois  confederacy,  22. 

Island  Number  Ten,  battle  of,  315. 

luka,  battle  of,  316. 

Jackson,  Andrew  255,  256. 

Jackson,  General  "  Stonewall,"  309,  319. 

Jamestown,  founding  of,  29. 

Japan,  1,  10. 

Jay,  Chief  Justice  John,  200,  202. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  188,  191,  206,  212. 

Jesuits  in  America,  107. 

Johnson,   Andrew,    348 ;    impeachment 

of,  350. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  85,  158. 
Johnston,  General  Albert  Sidney,  315. 
Johnston,  General  Joseph  E.,  319,  330, 

334,  335. 

Joliet,  Louis,  107. 
Jones,  John  Paul,  170,  172. 

Kansas  admitted,  312. 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  287. 
Kearsarge,  the,  338. 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  battle  of,  330. 
Kenuebec  River  Colony,  28. 
Kentucky,  196. 
Kieft,  William,  49. 
King  George's  War,  112. 
King's  plan,  the,  158,  160. 
King  William's  War,  111. 
Know-nothing  party,  286. 
Knox,  General  Henry,  191. 
Ku  Klux  Klan,  351. 

Labor  party,  358. 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  157. 
Lake  Erie,  naval  battle  on,  223. 
La  Salle,  Robert,  108. 
Lascell,  William  B.,  294. 
Laurens,  Henry,  39. 


INDEX 


53 


Lee,  General  Charles,  a  traitor,  155. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  149. 

Lee,  General  Robert  E.,  319,  320,  323; 

surrender  of,  335. 

Legislative  assemblies  in  colonies,  103. 
Leif  Ericson,  lands  in  North  America,  3. 
Leon,  Ponce  de,  discovers  Florida,  16. 
Letter  postage  reduced,  3(54. 
Lewis,  Captain  Meriwether,  210. 
Lexington,  skirmish  at,  139. 
Lincoln,   Abraham,   291 ;   debates  with 

Douglas,  290;  inaugural  address  of, 

306;  murder  of,  347;   reelection  of, 

346. 

Line  of  demarcation,  11, 12,  13. 
Locke,  John,  40. 

London  and  Plymouth  companies,  27. 
Londonderry  settled,  80. 
Long  Island,  battle  of,  153. 
Lookout  Mountain,  battle  of,  329. 
Lopez  Expedition,  285. 
Louisburg,  fall  of,  119. 
Louisiana,  admitted,  228 ;  Purchase,  208 ; 

Territory,  227. 
Lundys  Lane,  battle  of,  224. 
Lyon,  General  Nathaniel,  311. 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  309,  318, 

319,  321,  347. 
McCormick,  Cyrus,  296. 
McDowell,  General  Irwin,  308. 
McKinley,  William,  371,  400,  408,  409, 

413,  414. 

Madison,  James,  217,  223. 
Magellan,  voyage  of,  14. 
Maine  admitted,  249 ;  settlements  in,  81. 
Maine,  the,  destroyed,  399. 
Manhattan  Island,  48. 
Manila  Bay,  battle  of,  401. 
Manor  system,  49. 
Manufactures,  80,  99,  235. 
Marcos,  Fray,  16. 
Marquette,  Father,  107. 
Marshall,  James,  281. 
Maryland,  charter  of,  35. 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  38. 
Mason,  John,  66,  78,  79. 
Mason  and  Slidell,  312. 
Massachusetts,  beginnings  of,  65 ;  public 

schools  in,  69;  resists  the  king,  138. 
Massasoit,  chief,  64. 
Mather,  Cotton,  72;  Increase,  72. 


Maximilian  in  Mexico,  356. 

Mayflower,  the,  61,  62,  63. 

Meade,  General,  323,  324. 

Menendez  massacres  Huguenot  settle 
ment,  25. 

Merrimac,  the,  339. 

Mexican  War,  battles  of,  278. 

Mexico  declares  war,  275. 

Michigan,  admitted,  264  ;  Territory, 
228. 

Miles,  General  Nelson,  404. 

Mill  Springs,  battle  of,  313. 

Miuuit,  Peter,  49. 

Mint,  United  States,  194. 

Missionary  Ridge,  battle  of,  329. 

Mississippi,  admitted,  249;  Territory, 
227. 

Mississippi  River  explored,  107. 

Missouri  admitted,  249;  compromise, 
251. 

Mohawk  Gap,  113. 

Monitor,  the,  340. 

Monmouth,  battle  of,  164. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  248,  356,  370. 

Monroe,  James,  209,  246. 

Montana  admitted,  368. 

Montcalm,  Marquis  de,  117. 

Montgomery,  Richard,  144. 

Moores  Creek,  battle  of,  147. 

Morgan, .Colonel  Daniel,  144,  158,  167. 

Mormons,  239. 

Morris,  Robert,  174. 

Morristown,  mutiny  at,  167. 

Murfreesboro,  battle  of,  316. 

Murray,  Mrs.,  strategy  of,  154. 

Narvaez,    Panfilo    de,    explores    Gulf 

coast,  16. 

Nashville,  battle  of,  331. 
National  domain,  186. 
Naval  operations,  Barbary  coast,  212, 

227;  Civil  War,  335;  Revolutionary 

War,   170;    Spanish-American  War, 

395;  War  of  1812,  221. 
Navigation  Laws,  33,  100. 
Navy,  beginning  of,  146 ;  department  of, 

203;  gunboat,  214;  new,  365,  410. 
Nebraska  admitted,  356. 
Nevada  admitted,  35(5. 
New  Amsterdam  founded,  48. 
New  England  Confederacy,  81, 177. 
New  France,  107. 


54 


INDEX 


New  Hampshire,  founded,  79;  industries 
of,  80. 

New  Haven,  founded,  77;  theocracy, 
77. 

New  Jersey,  settlement  of,  53. 

New  Netherland,  Dutch  in,  47;  fall  of, 
50. 

New  Orleans,  208;  battle  of,  226;  in 
Civil  War,  316. 

New  route  to  America,  27. 

Newspapers,  418. 

New  York  Bay  discovered,  46. 

New  York,  colony  of,  51. 

Nicollet,  Jean,  107. 

Non-importation  agreement,  134. 

Non-intercourse  Act,  217. 

Norfolk  burned  by  British,  147. 

North  Carolina,  founded,  38;  revolu 
tionary  operations,  147. 

North  Dakota  admitted,  368. 

Northwest  Territory,  186. 

Nullification  controversy,  258,  260. 

Oglethorpe,  James,  41. 
Oklahoma  Territory,  368. 
Omnibus  Bill,  284. 
Ordinance  of  1787,  187. 
Oregon  country,  211,  266. 
Ostend  Manifesto,  395. 
Otis,  James,  124. 

Paine,  Thomas,  149. 

Palatine  Village  destroyed,  118. 

Palisade  forts,  110. 

Panama  Canal,  415. 

Parris,  Samuel,  71. 

Patroons,  the,  49. 

Pea  Kidge,  battle  of,  316. 

Pelham,  skirmish  of,  154. 

Pell,  Thomas,  defies  Stuyvesant,  50. 

Penn,  William,  55,  85. 

Pennsylvania,  founded,  54;   canal,  242; 

industries  of,  56. 
Pensions,  368. 

Perry,  Captain  Oliver  Hazard,  223. 
Perryville,  battle  of,  316. 
Persecution  of  Non-Puritans,  70. 
Petersburg,  operations  about,  332,  333. 
Philippine  Islands,  404,  408. 
Pierce,  Franklin,  286. 
Pike,  Zebulon,  211. 
Pilgrims,  the,  61. 


Pineda,  Alvarez  de,  explores  Gulf  coast, 
16. 

Pine  tree  shilling,  72. 

Pinzon,  Vicente,  explores  South  Atlantic 
coast,  16. 

Pitt,  William,  118,  127,  135. 

Plymouth  colony,  59,  62,  65. 

Political  parties,  rise  of,  195. 

Polk,  James  K.,  266,  275. 

Pools,  391,  393. 

Poor  Richard,  172. 

Pope,  Alexander  VI  divides  world,  25; 
Eugenius  IV  divides  the  world,  6. 

Pope,  General,  321. 

Popular  sovereignty,  283. 

Port  Hudson,  capture  of,  327. 

Porter,  Admiral,  325. 

Porto  Rico,  404,  406. 

Portugal,  place  of,  in  discovery,  6,  7. 

Presidential  succession,  365. 

Prince  Henry,  the  Navigator,  9. 

Printing,  effect  of  invention,  59. 

Privateers,  170. 

Public  lands,  sale  of,  196. 

Public  schools  in  Massachusetts,  69. 

Puritan  theocracy,  69,  72,  77. 

Puritans,  emigration  of,  65;  in  Mary 
land,  37 ;  persecution  of,  59. 

Quakers,  the,  in  Massachusetts,  70;  in 

Pennsylvania,  54. 

Quebec,  founded,  106;  storming  of,  119. 
Queen  Anne's  War,  110. 
Queenston,  attack  upon,  221. 

Railroad,  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  113;  Cen 
tral  Pacific,  371;  Great  Northern, 
379;  Illinois  Central,  301;  New  York 
Central,  238,  376 ;  Pennsylvania,  238 ; 
Southern  Pacific,  379;  Union  Pacific, 
378. 

Railways,  building  of,  242,  377;  land 
grants  to,  379 ;  trunk  lines,  376 ;  un 
derground,  301. 

Raisin  River,  battle  of,  220. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  founds  colonies,  26. 

Reconstruction,  policy  of  the  Congress, 
349;  policy  of  Johnson,  349;  policy 
of  Lincoln,  346. 

Redemptioners,  31. 

Republican  party,  288. 

Republican-Democratic  party,  255. 


INDEX 


55 


Resaca,  battle  of,  330. 

Rhode  Island,  founding  of,  73. 

Ribault,  settlement  of,  at  Port  Royal,  25. 

Richmond,  fall  of,  333. 

Right  of  search,  312. 

Robinson,  John,  01. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  402,  413-417. 

Rosecrans,  General,  301),  329. 

Rotation  in  office,  260. 

Rotundity  of  the  earth,  notions  about,  7. 

Rumsey's,  James,  steamboat,  239. 

St.  Augustine  founded,  25. 

Salem,  settled,  67;  witchcraft  at,  71. 

Salmon  Falls  massacre,  111. 

Sampson,  Admiral  William,  401. 

Sanchez,  Alonzo,  story  concerning,' 8. 

San  Juan  Hill,  battle  of,  402. 

Santa  Fe',  Spanish  mission  of,  17. 

Santa  Maria,  wrecking  of,  10. 

Santiago,  naval  battle,  403. 

Saratoga,  battle  of,  159. 

Savannah,  captured,  164;  founded,  42. 

Savannah  crosses  the  Atlantic,  240. 

Saybrook  founded,  76. 

Schenectady  massacre,  111. 

Schley,  Admiral  W.  S,  402. 

Schuyler,  General  Philip,  158. 

Scotch-Irish,  42,  80. 

Scott,  General  \Vinfield,  224,  278,  280, 

308,  309. 

Secession,  events  leading  to,  301. 
Sedition  law,  203. 
Semmes,  Captain,  338. 
Separatists,  59. 
Seven  days'  battles,  320. 
Shafter,  General  William  R.,  402,  404. 
Shenandoah,  the,  338. 
Shenandoah  Valley,  310,  319,  332. 
Sheridan,  General  Philip,  333. 
Sherman  Act,  368,  369,  385,  388,  392. 
Sherman,  General  W.  T.,  311,  315,  325, 

330,334. 

Shiloh,  battle  of,  315. 
Shipbuilding,  99. 
Sigel,  General  Franz,  311. 
Silk  cultivation,  42. 
Silver  demonetized,  384. 
Six  Nations,  23,  162. 
Slavery,   agitation,   283,  290  ;    first  in 

America,  31 ;  forbidden  in  Northwest 

Territory,  188  ;   in  Illinois,  270  ;   in 


Virginia,  31,  96;  Northern  view  of, 
300;  Southern  view  of,  299;  Wilmot 
Proviso,  276. 

Slaves,  emancipation  of,  321 ;  importa 
tion  of,  forbidden,  212. 

Smith,  Captain  John,  29,  47,  62. 

Social  life  in  the  colonies,  68,  94. 

Socialism  in  America,  238. 

Solis,  Juan,  explores  South  Atlantic 
coast,  16. 

Soto,  Hernando  de,  explores  Mississippi 
River,  16. 

South  America  discovered,  11. 

South  Carolina,  38. 

South  Dakota  admitted,  368. 

Spanish  territorial  claims,  201. 

Spoils  system,  261. 

Spottsylvania,  battle  of,  332. 

Stamp  Act,  123,  127. 

Standish,  Captain,  64. 

Stantou,  Edwin  M.,  350. 

Starving  time,  29. 

State,  banks,  229;  claims  ceded,  187; 
rights,  300. 

Steam  engine  perfected,  232. 

Steam  navigation,  239,  294. 

Steel,  Bessemer  process.  377,  380. 

Steuben,  Baron  von,  157,  164,  167,  168. 

Stevens,  John  C.,  240. 

Stillwater,  battle  of,  159. 

Strike,  Chicago,  365;  Pittsburg,  362; 
Pullman,  370. 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  50,  104. 

Subtreasury  plan,  264. 

Sullivan's  expedition,  161. 

Sumter,  the,  337. 

Swedes,  in  Delaware,  57 ;  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  56. 

Taft,  William  H.,  409. 

Taney,  Roger  B.,  262. 

Tariff,  first,  191;  for  protection,  252; 
of  1824,  254;  of  1828,  255;  of  1832, 
257 ;  of  1833,  259 ;  of  1842,  265 ;  effect 
on  South,  300;  of  1890,  368;  of  1894, 
369. 

Taxation  of  the  colonies,  122. 

Taylor,  Zachary,  276,  281,  283. 

Tea,  party,  Boston,  131 ;  tax,  130. 

Telegraph,  electric,  293. 

Telephone,  382.. 

Tennessee  admitted,  196. 


56 


INDEX 


Tenure  of  Office  Bill,  350. 
Texas,  admitted,  275;  and  Mexico,  272; 
annexation    of,     274;    republic    of, 
273. 

Thames,  battle  of,  224. 
Thirteenth  Amendment,  323. 
Thomas,  General  G.  H.,  329,  330,  331. 
Ticonderoga,  145. 
Tidyman,  104. 
Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  361. 
Tippecanoe,  battle  of,  218. 
Tobacco,  cultivation  of,  31, 98 ;  trade,  33. 
Toleration  Act,  36,  38. 
Tompkins,  Daniel,  246. 
Tories,  152,  156. 
Toscanelli,  opinions  of,  8. 
Town  meeting,  64. 
Townshend  Acts,  1-29. 

Trade  routes  between  Europe  and 
India,  4. 

Treasury  notes,  343. 

Treaty,  Clayton-Bulwer,  281 ;  fisheries 
246  ;  Ghent,  226 ;  Guadalupe-Hidalgo 
280;  Jay's,  200;  Paris,  174,  186 
Webster-Ashburton,  266. 

Trent  affair,  312. 

Trenton,  battle  of,  156. 

Trial  by  jury,  136. 

Trusts,  390. 

Tyler,  John,  265. 

Underground  railway,  301. 
Underbill,  Captain  John,  89. 


Valley  Forge,  157. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  258,  262,  281. 

Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  375. 

Van  Dorn,  General,  325. 

Van  Twiller,  Wouter,  49. 

Vasco  da  Gama,  voyage  of,  6. 

Venezuela  boundary,  370. 

Vera  Cruz,  battle  of,  278. 

Vermont,  196. 

Verrazano,  Giovanni  da,  45. 

Vespucci,  Amerigo,  journal  of,  14;  voy 
age  of,  13. 

Vicksburg,  siege  of,  325. 

Vinland,  settlement  of,  4. 
Virginia,  26;   becomes  a  royal  colony, 
32;  Claiborne's  rebellion,  37;  prog 
ress  of,  35. 


^irginia,  the,  339. 
irginia  City,  355. 

Var,  Algerine,  227 ;  Civil,  299 ;  Mexican, 
275;  Revolutionary,  152;  Spanish- 
American,  395 ;  Tripolitaii,  212 ;  1812, 
219. 

Vashington,  George,  mission  to  Fort  Le 
Bceuf,   115;   in   command  of  army, 
142;    at    New   York,    152;    retreats 
across  New  Jersey,  154 ;  at  Yorktown, 
169;    disbands    army,    170;    elected 
President,  190;   retires  from  public 
life,  202. 
Washington  admitted,  368. 
Washington  burned,  225. 
Wealth  in  the  colonies,  96. 
Weathersfield  founded,  77. 
Webster,  Daniel,  256. 
Wesley,  John  and  Charles,  42. 
West  India  Company,  47. 
West  Virginia  admitted,  324. 
Wheat  growing  transferred  to  the  West, 

296. 

Wheeler,  William  A.,  361. 
Whig  party,  origin  of,  263. 
Whisky  Insurrection,  201 . 
White  Plains,  battle  of,  154. 
Whitman,  Marcus,  267. 
Whitney,  Eli,  233. 
Wilderness,  battle  of,  331. 
William  and  Mary  College,  35. 
Williams,  Roger,  70,  73,  75, 
Wilmot  Proviso,  276. 
Wilson,  Henry,  360. 
Wilsons  Creek,  battle  of,  311. 
Winchester,  battle  of,  333. 
Windsor  founded,  76. 
Winthrop,  governor  of  Connecticut,  53 
Winthrop,  John,  67,  68. 
Wolfe,  General  James,  119. 
Wyoming  admitted,  368. 
Wyoming  Valley  massacre,  161. 


XYZmission,  203. 

Yeardley,  Sir  George,  30. 
Yorktown,  operations  at,  169. 

Zollicoffer,  General,  313. 
Zipango,  10. 


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